World No.1 Jannik Sinner became the first player to win five consecutive ATP 1000 Masters titles after winning the Mutua Madrid Open, a feat which even the Big Three – Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic – failed to achieve in their glorious careers.
The Italian defeated Alexander Zverev comprehensively by 6-1, 6-2 in Madrid on Sunday. Sinner won the Paris Masters in November last year and recently won titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Madrid to write his name in the history books.
“As I always said, I cannot compare myself with Rafa, Roger, Novak,” said the 24-year-old at his post-match press conference in Madrid. “What they did, it’s something incredible. I don’t play for these records, or I don’t play for records in general. I play for myself. I play for my team, because they know what’s behind. Also my family, because with the success I’ve had, they also never changed how they are towards me… It means, of course, a lot, great numbers. But there is a lot of discipline, a lot of sacrifice behind this.
“There’s also daily routines that I put in. I’m the first person who needs to be ready in the morning to wake up. I like the journey. I like to put myself in the best possible position to be the best version of myself. I don’t play for other records. As I said, what the other players did in the past, and Novak’s still doing, it’s something incredible. I cannot compare myself with them.”
Sinner did not name the most difficult match during his incredible run and said every game is challenging on the tour.
“Talking about tough matches, every match is tough,” Sinner said. “There is not one that’s easy. Also today, if I dropped a little bit of concentration, break back in the second, and, you know, everything starts over again.
“So it’s tough to say, different conditions all the time. Paris is indoor. Then you go to Indian Wells, very bouncy. Miami is very flat. Then you go change surface, you go to Monaco, it’s a bit slower. Then you go here, it’s very high altitude, and if you serve well it’s a lot to do. But it’s tough to say, and I don’t want to pick couple of matches.”
In-form Sinner doesn’t want to get complacent and wants to keep improving his game as he knows that promising players are rising through the ranks.
“There are great players, players we know, [and also players] who seem like they are coming, and they are actually there already. You never know. Someone like [Rafael] Jodar, six months ago, nobody saw, and he’s now here around the names. Maybe this can happen in a couple of months, there is a new player coming. [Alexander] Blockx made semis here, and before he was a little bit undercover.
“It’s very tough to say. I think great potential players, every one of them. You need to be ready. You need to inform yourself. With every name that’s going to come, you need to be very much informed. Of course, my job is always to improve as a player, because at the end of the day the results are only a consequence of how much work you put in. We are definitely working very well, but we need to keep going because if you drop a little bit, people are going to catch very fast. So I’m very happy to keep working.”
Sinner will next take part in the Italian Open.
