Although his coach and mentor Riccardo Piatti repeated almost obsessively that it takes “at least 150 ATP matches to judge a player”, Jannik Sinner is obviously making progress. At 19 1/2 years old and only 70 games under his belt, on Monday he appeared as world number 22.
He reached his first Masters 1000 final, which has been a record of precocity for his country and the world of tennis in general. And if we think of the greats, the first thought, despite the GOAT debate, is for Roger Federer.
So let’s see what Roger had done, not at Sinner’s age, but with the same number of ATP matches played. Federer made his debut on the ATP circuit way back in 1998 (it’s amazing to think he’s still on the Tour), he wasn’t even seventeen years old.
In the first two seasons he played few games (31), the true leap in quality that he made in 2000, reaching 70, like Sinner today. Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz is causing a sensation in Poland during the Miami Open presented by Itaú.
That means Wojtek Fibak, a Pole who made it to the Top 10 in the world in singles and doubles, is a busy man. Fibak, the only other player from his country to win an ATP Tour singles title, has received 100 calls a day with requests to discuss Hurkacz.
While speaking to ATPTour.com on Saturday, the 67-time tour-level champion (singles and doubles) said his two phones vibrated 10 times with calls from newspapers, radio stations and television stations.
Polish legend Wojtek Fibak on Hubert Hurkacz
This is not the first time Hurkacz has shown his skills. He competed in the 2018 Next Gen ATP Finals and won two ATP Tour titles – at Winston Salem in 2019 and at Delray Beach earlier this year.
But Fibak saw him play as a junior at Roland Garros for the first time. “I remember the way he walked, a bit like a basketball player. I thought of Andy Murray and I thought he had great defense and good hands, but he wasn’t that consistent then, ”said Wojtek Fibak.
“It is difficult to be consistent with his tennis because he hits so flat that he has no reserves. He does not use topspin. Over time, it got more consistent and then it got really dangerous.
My dream is that it becomes the Top 5 and possibly even higher, the Top 3, maybe a leader, and it will remain as it is [en términos de su personalidad]. That’s what I would like, “Fibak said.
“Some people showed that [es posible]Like Roger Federer, Raonic is a gentleman, he always loses the same way he wins. They are two young people who are excellent players for their sport and their fans because of the way they behave on and off the pitch ”.
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