Jannik Sinner on the Verge of Breaking Into Top 10 Following Triumph in Antwerp

20-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner is inarguably one of the most promising future stars of tennis. Recently, he won his 4th ATP title of the 2021 season, defeating Argentine Diego Schwartzman in the European Open final. As a result, he got a massive leap in the ATP Rankings, taking the 11th spot, a new career-best.

Apart from the jump in rankings, Sinner has also improved his chances for ATP Finals qualification. At present, he is 11th in the Torino Race but less than 400 points to qualify. Accordingly, the upcoming tournaments would play a vital role in deciding the Top 8 of this season.

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Can Jannik Sinner end the 2021 season inside the Top 10?

Before success in Antwerp, Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Sofia title and reached the last 16 in Indian Wells. Notably, his other two titles came at Adelaide International and Washington Open.

Aug 8, 2021; Washington, DC, USA; Jannik Sinner of Italy holds the championship trophy after his singles finals match against Mackenzie McDonald of the United States (not pictured) at Citi Open at Rock Creek Park Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Taetsch-USA TODAY Sports

Given the Italian star’s improvement in the past two years, the titles had to come sooner rather than later. Moreover, Sinner is the youngest player to win 5 ATP titles since 19-year-old Novak Djokovic in 2007.

20-year-old @JannikSin is youngest 5-time @ATPTour champion since 19-year-old @DjokerNole.

Sinner: 2020 @SofiaOpenTennis, 2021 Melbourne1, 2021 @CitiOpen, 2021 Sofia, 2021 @EuroTennisOpen

Djokovic: 2006 Amersfoort, 2006 @MoselleOpen, 2007 Adelaide, 2007 @MiamiOpen, 2007 Estoril

— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) October 24, 2021

From here on, the new World No.11 will aim to make the most of the upcoming tournaments and try for ATP Finals qualification. But for this, he would require good results in both Vienna Open and Paris Masters 1000.

And since the gap is less than 400 ranking points, the 20-year-old is very much alive in the race. However, Sinner’s close competition is with Casper Ruud, Hubert Hurkacz, and Cameron Norrie.

Indeed, it would be a big boost for his career to debut in the year-ending championships at 20. Chiefly, the next two weeks will tell whether he makes it through or not.

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Which tournament will Sinner play next?

As an Antwerp champion, Sinner will play American Reilly Opelka in Vienna Open first round. Interestingly, he could also meet Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals, which might become decisive for his year-ending qualifications.

Tennis – ATP 500 – Queen’s Club Championships – Queen’s Club, London, Britain – June 14, 2021 Italy’s Jannik Sinner in action during his round of 32 match against Britain’s Jack Draper Action Images via Reuters/Paul Childs

But considering Sinner’s mindset, he would be happy to learn and grow and take one tournament at a time. However, a little push here could take him into one of the most prestigious events in tennis.

Conclusively, the coming 15 days would be intriguing as the Race to ATP Finals tightens up. Let’s see who makes it through and plays the Finals in Turin this year.

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