Jannik Sinner is through to his first Madrid Open final (Image: Getty)
Jannik Sinner is through to a maiden Madrid Open final, where he could become the first man to lift the trophy at five consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments. Until this week, the world No. 1 didn’t have a great record here by his standards, and had never been beyond the quarter-finals.
Sinner has had to break some Spanish hearts on his way to the final, taking out hometown hero Rafael Jodar in the quarter-finals. Madrid-born Jodar got a wildcard into the tournament and stormed into the last eight, upsetting No. 5 seed Alex de Minaur en route. He made it tight against Sinner in the second set but still lost 6-2 7-6(0).
The world No. 1 knows what it’s like to face a popular Spanish opponent – his biggest rival is Carlos Alcaraz. But Sinner doesn’t shy away from an opposing crowd. Instead of channelling Novak Djokovic, who used to envision fans chanting his name instead of Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer, the Italian understands why some spectators might cheer against him.
“I think everyone is different. Novak handled it very, very well, of course I think the best. But for me, I have, I don’t have a technique. For me, honestly, I’m just happy to be part of a match,” Sinner said after beating Arthur Fils in Friday’s semi-final.
“People come to see good tennis, and sometimes people, they’re not against you, they just want to see a little bit more tennis. So I also understand them and, yeah, that’s it. I try to stay also calm in pressure moments and very tough moments, so this is just how I am.
“It doesn’t mean this is good or bad, you know, I think everyone is different. But yeah, the crowd can give you a lot of positives. Me, when I play in Italy, it means a lot to me. I always say you have an extra shot, you know, playing with the crowd.”
Jannik Sinner beat home favourite Rafael Jodar in the Madrid Open quarter-finals (Image: Getty)
But Sinner also thinks the fans in Madrid have been respectful throughout the fortnight, even when he beat one of their own. He added: “But, honestly, also when I played against Rafael here, it was a nice atmosphere. I think they are very, very fair towards me, and that’s something what I really appreciate.”
One thing Sinner showed when he beat Jodar was his ability to raise his level in the pressure moments. The top seed managed to force a tiebreak after a close second set and then ran away with it, not losing a single point. It’s something he’ll need to channel in the final, but it’s not deliberate.
“I like to play with the gut feeling. And that’s what I feel in that moment, and I just try to go for it, honestly. There is no real key,” Sinner explained. “I think I would rather go for it and miss a ball than waiting for the opponent to miss. I’ve always been like this. Obviously, not every time you can play like this, it’s also depending how you feel. This is just how I see it.”
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