Teen Jannik Sinner upsets Monfils in Antwerp

“Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.” - Oscar Wilde

In Jannik Sinner’s case, that couldn’t be truer. A year ago, the Italian was in the infant stages of his professional career. He was ranked No. 778 and found mixed results at ITF Futures events, understandable for teenager still finding his way in a sport that was not his first love.

For many years, skiing came first for the Italian. Tennis was a fun side activity he enjoyed participating in a couple times a week. It took receiving frequent attention from prominent coach Riccardo Piatti for Sinner to flip his priorities, as he ultimately moved away from home to train at Piatti’s academy.

Having opted not to enter many junior events, Sinner’s decision to instead gain experience against stronger, more experienced competition has paid significant dividends in 2019. Between February and March, he dominated on home soil, winning 16 consecutive matches to win three titles, including his first ATP Challenger in Bergamo.

By June, he was fast approaching the Top 200 and had his first taste of Grand Slam qualifying, losing a heartbreaker 12-10 third set at Wimbledon to Alex Bolt. He would avenge his defeat to the Australian in the Lexington Challenger final and a month later, successfully qualify for the US Open and push former champion Stan Wawrinka to four sets in his major main-draw debut.

With his fast rise up the ranks, it was only a matter of time before Sinner made a bigger splash at the tour level. On Thursday, the 18-year-old scored the biggest win of his career, ousting world No. 13 Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 to reach his first ATP quarterfinal in Antwerp.

A wild card entrant, Sinner is closing on the Top 100 and could move closer to the milestone if he advances past Frances Tiafoe come Friday. Sinner’s win dashed Monfils’ hopes of gaining ground in the Race to London.