"I retire from tennis, it's shameful to lose to this guy Sinner, I think he's really bad"

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Time puts things in their place and makes perspectives change. Just ask Steve Johnson, whose humility in recounting what he thought the first time he faced Jannik Sinner has left a truly funny anecdote symptomatic of the Italian's evolution. They faced off in Rome when the current number 1 was 17 years old, and the American had no inkling whatsoever of what was to come.

There are stories we may never know that could not only amuse us but also illustrate how things can change rapidly. Jannik Sinner was never a diamond in the rough dominating the lower levels of Italian tennis, becoming a promise of the global sport. His emergence was abrupt, breaking into the Challenger circuit at 17 years old with unprecedented strength and quickly transitioning to the best tournaments in the world. Many wondered where this boy had come from, and some, like Steve Johnson, didn't even consider that he could become one of the best in the world.

- Sinner defeated Johnson in Rome at 17 years old by 1-6, 6-1, 7-5, marking his second ATP-level triumph

"Everything happened at the 2019 Rome tournament. I was playing well, ranked 59th in the world and feeling good. I knew that I might struggle to play my best tennis at the Foro Italico, but I was confident. I was drawn to play a local 17-year-old in the first round, and they scheduled us on the Center Court. I felt some nerves, but as soon as the match started, I knew I had to win. I faced a very slender kid, didn't see how he could harm me, and easily won the first set," recounted Johnson.

It should be noted that Sinner had already played two matches at the ATP level previously, in the Budapest tournament, and had been a finalist at the Ostrava Challenger. "I hadn't heard anything about him, and I told myself it would be a disgrace to lose that match. I started poorly in the second set, made mistakes, played terribly. We went to a third set; I had chances to win, but it slipped away in the end," recalled Johnson, who had a 4-1 lead in the third set and even had match point at 5-3.

"When I got to the locker room, I called my agent and told him to cancel my upcoming commitments, that I was retiring from tennis. I couldn't accept the shame of losing to that kid. I told him I had been defeated by a 17-year-old who was awful. Both my coach and my agent told me to give Jannik time, believing he would be a great player, while I was convinced he would win a match in his life and it would be against me. The shame was eating me up," revealed the American, who had been ranked as high as 21 in the world.

- Johnson's coach and agent did see potential in Sinner and encouraged their player, suggesting that the Italian would become a great player in a few years

The truth is that this anecdote perfectly illustrates how much Jannik Sinner has been able to evolve. Just over a year after that match, he reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, defeating Zverev and falling to Nadal. Like Alcaraz, he was always seen as a young man destined to change the history of tennis, with evident potential, but not everyone believed that Sinner would reach his current status, as his tennis was much less brilliant at that age. However, hard work has placed the Italian at the pinnacle.

"I'm delighted to see what a good talent scout I am," Steve Johnson assures with a laugh. "The truth is I couldn't imagine five years later I would be in the current position, but I'm glad to be a footnote in tennis history due to this match," said the American player, who retired this season and has delighted all tennis fans with one of those anecdotes that perfectly illustrate the emotions that can be experienced with this sport.

Steve Johnson telling the story on how he almost quit tennis because he lost a match against a very skinny, young tennis player Jannik Sinner, on the Center Court in Rome:
..."I started to talk to my agent, and couple of the other coaches and they were like, give it time, like… pic.twitter.com/je76EvrUMl

— ᴏʀɪɢɪɴᴀʟ ꜱɪɴⁿᵉʳ (@Dariadda) November 26, 2024

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, "Me retiro del tenis, es vergonzoso perder con este tal Sinner, me parece malísimo"