Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner has finally achieved his dream of winning a Grand Slam. He also became the first Italian to win the Australian Open Men’s Singles. Winning a Grand Slam is always special. It is even more special with friends, family, and the whole tennis community by your side. Several people from the tennis community congratulated Sinner on his win from a down-and-out position. Not least of which was 22-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.
Rafael Nadal, an idol of Sinner growing up, took to Instagram recently and congratulated the 22-year-old. His delight for the young man was heartwarming for fans.
“Awesome Jan, Well done. Great tournament your first Grand Slam tournament!!! Greetings to you, your team, your family, and all of Italy that won today with you [Translated in English],” wrote Nadal on his Instagram post.
Sinner, who idolizes Nadal, is already following in the Spaniard’s footsteps, not only on court but also off it. He became the brand ambassador for Nike after signing an estimated $150 million deal in 2022. Nadal too is a brand ambassador of the same brand. Sinner also idolizes Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Another Italian tennis player, Andreas Seppi is also his hero since he is from south Tyrol in Italy, where Sinner is from.
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Despite Nadal’s best intentions and his goodness of heart in congratulating Sinner, fans have noted how this might be a dig at Novak Djokovic. They connected it to Djokovic losing to Sinner in the semifinals. It was a shock to many and a near-impossible feat as Nadal himself would know better. Always popular with the masses, Nadal spoke so highly of Sinner but hasn’t done the same for Djokovic for his many titles won. Djokovic himself explained recently how Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer sort of side-cast him early in his career which was another controversy altogether. He attributed the reason for not being Western European like them.
Djokovic fans and Nadal fans have butted heads for a long time now over several aspects of the game. Some even ridicule the Serb for not being a public-friendly person like Nadal. This time around though, fans noted that this must be Nadal’s way of giving the cold shoulder to Djokovic again. Although it may not well be true and could just be fans randomly connecting the imaginary dots and having a field day for jokes.
Yeah, Rafa is always classy. Congratulates his colleagues no matter who wins the title
— Alys (@AlysEllise) January 28, 2024
What’s next for Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner?
If the Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic rivalry is intense, it is now pale in front of the long and enduring Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer rivalry. Nadal and Federer are also very close friends and long-time admirers of each other. Both are loved for their humble and polite nature, and their fans seldom argue among themselves over anything besides the gameplay. But they seem to take every opportunity to ridicule Djokovic whenever they can.
Nadal is set to make a comeback at the Doha Open in Qatar in just a few weeks. It is an ATP 250 event. On the other hand, Jannik Sinner has his next assignment at the ATP 500 event at the Rotterdam Open. It is likely that amongst big events, Sinner plays after that at the Indian Wells and Miami Masters, which Rafael Nadal is also targetting after Doha. This could mean that Sinner and Nadal could set up a tantalising clash in the early rounds of either of the two tournaments due to the Spaniard’s ranking now being outside the top 450, while Sinner is ranked No.4 in the world.
