Sinner on becoming No 1 in the world: “It represents a great result of work ethic”

It was a productive Tuesday at Roland-Garros for Jannik Sinner. The 22-year-old defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (3) in the quarter-finals and before exiting the court learned that he had clinched the No 1 ranking due to Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal.

Sinner will officially assume the top spot on the ATP Tour next week. Djokovic, who advanced to the quarter-finals but now has a torn medial meniscus, was defending 2,000 points from last year’s title in Paris.

“It represents a great result of work ethic,” Sinner said during an on-court interview. “Me and my team, it was one of our goals this year. But the most important goal is always to improve as a player and as a person. I can be very happy and pleased with what I am doing and what my team is doing.

“It’s for sure not the way I wanted to become No 1, as Novak [withdrew]. But in the other way I’ve played some really good tennis and I’m happy to be in that position. It’s something new coming up for me; it’s something good. So I’m very happy.

SINNER CREDITS COACHING TEAM

As always, Sinner was sure to credit coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi — along with his entire team.

“We started to work now nearly two years now together,” the Italian said of Cahill. “It’s obviously a huge pleasure for me to have him. I still remember the first week we had in Eastbourne on grass. Immediately I had good feelings with him because he has a lot of experience obviously.

“I know that he brought different kind of players to world No 1. He had great achievements also with different players. He knows how to adapt to each player, and I think this is a quality what’s amazing, no?

“[Cahill] and also the combination with Simone is really, really good. They’re two different coaches, but they work together really well. They are very humble, and they respect each other very much. I think the combination is very good. I’m lucky to have both of them and all the rest of the team.”

SINNER STILL HAS EYES ON THE ROLAND-GARROS PRIZE

Of course, the task current at hand for Sinner is to reach his first Roland-Garros final and ultimately capture a second Grand Slam title. The reigning Australian Open champion will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semis on Friday.

“I am very happy about this achievement,” he assured. “It’s a lot of work we put in daily; it’s a daily routine. Obviously (I’m) happy to have this number, (but) in two days there is a very important match for me, the semi-finals, so I’m focused about that at the moment.”

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