Jannik Sinner has proven that he is a player to watch out for years to come. The Italian’s form turned invincible when he defeated world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz at the China Open and world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in Beijing, Vienna, and Turin. The 22-year-old star ended Novak Djokovic’s 19-match winning streak at the Nitto ATP Finals, earning him the most prestigious fan award in tennis.
On the other hand, Djokovic, who is the most decorated player of the modern game having won the Serbian having 40 Masters 1000s and 24 major titles, was excluded from the 2023 ATP Awards list.
Jannik Sinner becomes Fans’ Favourite single player in 2023
Jannik Sinner has being voted the Fans’ Favourite singles player in the ATP Awards having capped his career-best ATP Tour season in style. The Italian won four ATP titles in 2023, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto. He lost to Djokovic at the Nitto ATP Finals title match but led Italy to its first Davis Cup trophy since 1976.
Sinner held a 64-15 tour-level record in 2023 and finished the season at a career-high No. 4 in the ATP Rankings, becoming the first Italian player to end a season in the Top 5. He also became the first player to beat the Top 3 in a season, including defeating Daniil Medvedev thrice in a successive row.
The prestigious award, also known as the fan’s favorite award, is handed out to the most popular player on the court and despite the Serbian being a three-grand Slam champion this season, he is consistently overlooked when the award is given. Last year, Casper Rudd broke the dominance of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in the winners list. Federer has won the award 19 times, Nadal on five occasions, and Djokovic is yet to win any.
Roger Federer won the ATP Fans’ Favourite Award from 2003 to 2021, with his unbroken run of wins highlighting his relentless popularity in the game. With Federer retired and Nadal missing the season through injury, Djokovic was easily fancied to have his chances of getting in the mix for this prize, but he was not mentioned again.
Also, Sinner, who won Newcomer of the Year in 2019, has been nominated for two player-voted ATP Awards this season: Most Improved Player of the Year and the Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award. The Italian’s coaches, Darren Cahill and Simeone Vagnozzi, are up for Coach of the Year award. Winners will be revealed throughout Awards Week.
Tennis community reacts to Jannik Sinner Fans’ Favourite award win
The tennis community widely reacted to Jannik Sinner Fans’ Favourite award win. He became the first Italian to win the Award after a thrilling season of incredible performances especially beating Djokovic twice and Daniil Medvedev thrice.
A tennis lover reacted on X formerly known as Twitter, “Jannik Sinner wins the Fans’ Favourite singles player award in 2023. Roger Federer won this poll 19 consecutive years (till 2021) and Rafael Nadal won in 2022. Quite impressive for the 22-year-old.”
Another fan said, “That’s a stat Djokovic will never break.”
“Without Roger and Rafa, Djokovic still cannot win fans’ heart,” a fan wrote.
Meanwhile, the 2024 season is gearing up with Djokovic kicking-off with Serbia at the United Cup before searching for his 11th Australian Open title, while Jannik Sinner is yet to announce which tournament he begins with.
