Sinner lived with a Croatian family to give him as normal a life as possible despite being so far from home. He has kept up contact with that family during his rise through the sport’s ranks.
Piatti remembers a strong personality and character with a good sense of humour, while coach Andrea Volpini – who travelled with Sinner in his early career – recalls more typical teenage traits.
He remembers a sociable teenager who enjoyed “simple things” like football, ice cream and – when time allowed – a trip to the karting track. Volpini also visited Sinner’s hometown with him.
“I went to run with him high in the mountains. It was tough to follow him – he knew all the curves and the jumps, and it was not easy for me,” Volpini recalls.
“He spent a lot of time far away and then came back there [to] regenerate, find new energy to restart.”
Sinner also differed from many others of his generation in that he never played a junior Grand Slam. Piatti preferred to send him to play on the Futures tour, the lowest rung of men’s professional tennis.
“He was, by our opinion, ready to play them – not to win, but these tournaments gave more possibilities for him to work on his goals,” Volpini explained.
There were also some handy practice partners from time to time. Roger Federer was a visitor to the academy and on more than one occasion Sinner practised with Djokovic in Monte Carlo.
“The first time you face these great players, maybe more important [are the] off-court moments, when you sit down and take a break,” Volpini added.
“We always push Jannik to ask a question. I remember one time in Monte Carlo when Novak told him some advice on his forehand – don’t push but try to find a bit shorter corner.”
Sinner’s forehand is now one of his biggest weapons and is aided by a superb serve and Djokovic-like movement around the court.
“My idea was that this guy is a player that can beat Novak because they were similar – the movement is very similar,” Piatti added.
“The idea was to hit the ball faster than the other one, especially to Djokovic.”
