Jannik Sinner is into his first final on a grass court in Halle, having overcome Zhizhen Zhang in straight sets.
It marked yet another triumph in the long, unrelenting list of successes that the Italian has brought up in 2024, where he has already won his first Grand Slam title, the first three titles won before this current competition.
However, whilst fans are unsurprisingly clamouring to commend his patented brand of tennis, which is overcoming pretty much everyone in his way, it is the measure of the man that has truly earned recent adulation.
Especially in his recent semi-final against the Chinese tennis star, where he exhibited a fine piece of sportsmanship which has caught the attention.
Tennis fans react to what Jannik Sinner did vs Zhizhen Zhang
Having won the first set with relative ease, the Italian seemed set to cruise into the final in Halle.
However, upping his game, Zhizhen managed to drag the world number one to a well-earned second-set tiebreak.
The 27-year-old was to serve first, and immediately he struck a thunderous effort that flew past Jannik Sinner.
Happy with what he thought was an ace, given there was no call, he was bemused that the chair umpire was waiting for him to take his second serve.
‘Due to a technical issue, the system wasn’t able to make the call. It’s confirmed that the serve was out,’ he claimed, much to the bemusement of Zhizhen.
But Sinner wanted parity, and told the umpire to allow him his first serve again, much to the admiration of the fans.
One fan was delighted with this showing, detailing his admiration for both Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz by writing: ‘Tennis is in good hands: Sinner and Alcaraz are the best’.
Another then wrote in Polish: ‘Sinner has always been a lovely man and I’m glad nothing has changed that. Great number 1’.
Jannik Sinner is a great role model for tennis
Not only is he a truly phenomenal tennis player, but clearly Sinner has enough decorum to further endear him to the masses.
A true role model, who proves that it is possible to win and be competitive whilst also being fair, there are plenty within the sport who could take a leaf out of his book.
Given how complimentary Sinner spoke of Jack Draper, it is no surprise to see him display such respect to another fellow professional mid-match.
Tennis has been brought up as a gentleman’s sport, with certain rules and regulations seeking to uphold certain levels of grace and politeness.
And whilst plenty of these statutes are definitely outdated, it is always refreshing to see someone adhere to them so stringently, even if it means putting yourself in a worse position.
Sinner would go on to win the match comfortably in the end, and thus deserves praise not only for his play, but also his conduct as well.
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