New Delhi [India], World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has revealed the advice he received from tennis great Roger Federer when he was 17 and hanging out at the players' on-site hotel at the Terra Wortman Open in Halle, where he Competing as a wild card in qualifying.
Suddenly nine-time Halle champion Roger Federer's coach Severin Luthi stopped him. Sinner said Lüthi asked him to play a warm-up match with Federer so that the 20-time Grand Slam champion could prepare well for his match.
"I remember Lüthi stopping me on the hotel stairs and asking me if I could prepare [Federer] for his match. I said, 'Absolutely, yes.''It was a great feeling, a special feeling,' Sinner told ATPTour.com on Saturday.
Swiss great Federer won his tenth and last title in Halle that year. Sinner is the top seed this year and tops the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. Even though the two never played a competitive match, the 22-year-old Italian remembers Federer's advice.
“I didn't get a chance to play against Roger in an official match, and that's something I'll always miss, but I remember the practice sessions with him.I didn't have many, so I remember every single one, more or less. He just gave me kind of mental advice: try to enjoy it and be willing to work hard. That's the only thing he said to me, and it was great to share the court with him,'' Sinner reflected.
Sinner enters Halle with a 33-3 record this season, including her first Grand Slam win at the Australian Open. After cracking the major code at this year's Australian Open and becoming the first Italian world No. 1 in history, could capturing his first tour-level grass-court championship be the next milestone for the 22-year-old in 2024?
"It will be very special because you don't have that many grass-court tournaments throughout the year. It's only here and Wimbledon where I'm playing, so I only have two chances (this year).But in general, it's great to be back on grass,'' Sinner said.
"It's different. On the first day you have to go through activities on the surface and it is tough, especially when you play in the first round against players who are already playing on grass. They get a bit of a feel for it, But this is a place where they believed in me, they already gave me a wild card in quality, so I'm happy to be back here and hopefully I can show some good tennis early on.
Sinner is unlikely to give first-round opponent Talon Grixpur much time to adjust to German grass.The Dutch world number 23 reached the semi-finals this week in his hometown Hertogenbosch, where he wins the championship in 2023. Ahead of his match in Halle, Sinner leads the ATP head2head series 4–0.
"It will be very difficult. In general, he plays well on grass. He serves and volleys a lot.He volleys very, very well. It will be a very difficult match, but I am looking forward to playing on grass. It will be a good test for me, for my first match on grass, to see if I will give my all, and I am looking forward to the crowd here. And I'll just try to enjoy it,” Sinner said in German at his pre-tournament press conference in Grixpur.
Suddenly nine-time Halle champion Roger Federer's coach Severin Luthi stopped him. Sinner said Lüthi asked him to play a warm-up match with Federer so that the 20-time Grand Slam champion could prepare well for his match.
"I remember Lüthi stopping me on the hotel stairs and asking me if I could prepare [Federer] for his match. I said, 'Absolutely, yes.''It was a great feeling, a special feeling,' Sinner told ATPTour.com on Saturday.
Swiss great Federer won his tenth and last title in Halle that year. Sinner is the top seed this year and tops the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. Even though the two never played a competitive match, the 22-year-old Italian remembers Federer's advice.
“I didn't get a chance to play against Roger in an official match, and that's something I'll always miss, but I remember the practice sessions with him.I didn't have many, so I remember every single one, more or less. He just gave me kind of mental advice: try to enjoy it and be willing to work hard. That's the only thing he said to me, and it was great to share the court with him,'' Sinner reflected.
Sinner enters Halle with a 33-3 record this season, including her first Grand Slam win at the Australian Open. After cracking the major code at this year's Australian Open and becoming the first Italian world No. 1 in history, could capturing his first tour-level grass-court championship be the next milestone for the 22-year-old in 2024?
"It will be very special because you don't have that many grass-court tournaments throughout the year. It's only here and Wimbledon where I'm playing, so I only have two chances (this year).But in general, it's great to be back on grass,'' Sinner said.
"It's different. On the first day you have to go through activities on the surface and it is tough, especially when you play in the first round against players who are already playing on grass. They get a bit of a feel for it, But this is a place where they believed in me, they already gave me a wild card in quality, so I'm happy to be back here and hopefully I can show some good tennis early on.
Sinner is unlikely to give first-round opponent Talon Grixpur much time to adjust to German grass.The Dutch world number 23 reached the semi-finals this week in his hometown Hertogenbosch, where he wins the championship in 2023. Ahead of his match in Halle, Sinner leads the ATP head2head series 4–0.
"It will be very difficult. In general, he plays well on grass. He serves and volleys a lot.He volleys very, very well. It will be a very difficult match, but I am looking forward to playing on grass. It will be a good test for me, for my first match on grass, to see if I will give my all, and I am looking forward to the crowd here. And I'll just try to enjoy it,” Sinner said in German at his pre-tournament press conference in Grixpur.
