Young players, learn from Sinner's fair play with De Jong, is a rare thing

The young Italian once again showed his human qualities and respect for his opponent


by LORENZO CIOTTI

Young players, learn from Sinner's fair play with De Jong, is a rare thing
© Julian Finney / Staff Getty Images Sport

I want to start this article with advice aimed at all young players approaching the world of tennis: read this article and learn from Jannik Sinner. With his fair play, the young Italian has already earned the recognition of being one of the most correct and sporting tennis players in the world.

Another episode that demonstrates this thesis occurred during the second round of the Australian Open 2024, which saw the Italian and the Dutch Jesper De Jong opposing each other.

In the third set, at 4-0 and with the match already settled, the ringing of a cell phone began to disturb the two players on the court. The 23-year-old Dutchman served out his first serve and then stopped, waiting for the ringing of the phone to stop.

At that point the Italian asked De Jong if everything was okay and if he wanted to return the first serve. However, the Dutchman rejected Sinner's proposal and continued with the second. A nice gesture of fair play by the Italian player, who is absolutely not new to this type of situation, which has led him - not only with the results obtained in his career - to enjoy the respect of all the athletes on the ATP tour.

Jesper De Jong praises Jannik

De Jong, who could do little in the match against the ATP No.4, thanked everyone at the end of the match, via a message that appeared on social media: "I'm so grateful to compete on the biggest stage against one of the best players out there." declared, thus praising Jannik Sinner. "Thank you all for the kind messages and great support this week, it means a lot," he added.

At the press conference, the Italian said: "It was new to play with him, he came from the qualifiers, he had won matches, I started very carefully. He is a very good player, he is a young player and by playing in this way he will be able to play many other matches in the main draw of the Slams. However, I played well, I served well, it was a good match.

After the first round match against Van de Zandschulp I think today I improved my level, I felt better on the court, with the roof closed it's a bit different and I really like these conditions. Obviously it's part of the tournament and when it rains you need to know how to adapt to a different situation. I have to always try to improve even if today I think I did very well and managed to stay calm during the match."