‘Incredible human’ Jannik Sinner paid glowing tribute by Jack Draper
Jannik Sinner has been paid a glowing tribute by Jack Draper after their Montreal doubles partnership – with the British star describing the world No 1 as an “incredible human”.
Sinner and Draper have known each other for several years and are close in age, with the Italian turning 23 today and the Brit celebrating that same birthday later this year.
And they put their friendship to good use in Montreal last week, reaching the last eight of the doubles draw at the Canadian Open.
They beat Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in round one, and then Ben Shelton and Alexander Bublik in round two, before withdrawing from their quarter-final against 14th seeds Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski.
It has been an incredible year for Sinner, who won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and became the world No 1 back in June.
However, it has also been a significant year for Draper, who won his first ATP title in Stuttgart.
And, speaking to the ATP Tour website, the 22-year-old paid a touching tribute to his contemporary.
“He’s such a good player, but more importantly, an incredible human being,” said Draper.
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“[He is] very genuine, funny, and that’s the reason why we wanted to play together. I think we’re good friends.
“We always say hi to each other. We always support each other regardless of results. It’s nice to sort of have that camaraderie and stuff, and even though hopefully we will be close rivals.
“He’s someone I have huge respect for, and I think he’s doing incredibly well in the sport.
“He’s one of those guys who’s showing us the way. So to play with him was a real honour, and to play with the No 1 in the world was huge as well.”
It has been a big week for Draper at the Cincinnati Open, with two hard-fought victories to his name.
The world No 1 defeated Jaume Munar in a third set tiebreak in round one, before rallying to down ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 in round two – having broken the Greek while he served for the match.
Sinner came into the tournament as an injury doubt, having appeared to struggle with a recurring hip issue in his Canadian Open loss to Andrey Rublev.
The Italian was convincing enough, however, in his Cincinnati Open against Alex Michelsen, and faces Jordan Thompson on Friday.
