Jannik Sinner urged to target Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer Grand Slam totals
Jannik Sinner has been told the Grand Slam totals of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer would be “a nice goal” to target by Italian Tennis Federation (FITP) president Angelo Binaghi.
Sinner won his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January before securing his second at the US Open in September.
The 23-year-old Italian has won seven titles so far during an outstanding 2024 campaign and he will end the season as the ATP world No 1. He holds a stellar 65-6 (91.5%) record this year.
Djokovic holds the all-time men’s Grand Slam title record with 24, while Nadal and Federer sit second and third on the list with 22 and 20 majors respectively.
Speaking on Radio Rai Gr Parlamento, Binaghi raised the possibility of Sinner reaching 30 Grand Slams, while stressing the most important thing is for Sinner is to remain healthy.
“How many Slams can Sinner win? He has won two in a year: he is fifteen years younger than Djokovic, so with two a year he would reach 30,” Binaghi said.
“Maybe it is excessive, but making an average between Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, that is a nice goal to reach.
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“But it does not matter how many he will reach, the real problem is how much we will be able to keep him in perfect shape. You don’t have to look at the points he scores or how many tournaments he wins, you have to monitor his state of health.
“If he is healthy, Jannik is a phenomenon as a boy and as an athlete. he continues to learn, his religion is work.
“Whether it is 10, 20 or 30 Slams, it makes little difference. For the first time in history Italian tennis is the absolute protagonist of the world scene.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) announced in August that Sinner would not receive a ban for failing two anti-doping tests in March after an independent tribunal ruled he was not to blame.
The Italian tested positive for clostebol, a banned anabolic steroid, on March 10 and 18 — during and after the Indian Wells Masters.
The tribunal accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance had entered his body when receiving a massage from his former physio, who had used a spray containing the steroid to treat a cut on his finger.
However, it was announced earlier this month that the World Anti-Doping Agency had appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, seeking to impose a ban of up to two years on the world No 1.
That would certainly harm Sinner’s chances of meeting Binaghi’s target – he is joint favourite with Carlos Alcaraz to win 2025’s first major, the Australian Open – but Binaghi is confident that anyone considering using a sign-up offer for MrQ to back Sinner need not worry.
Binaghi expressed his confidence that CAS will rule in Sinner’s favour on WADA’s appeal.
“We have great faith in the CAS. Not even Wada thinks it needs to requalify what happened, its appeal is on the correct application of the rules currently in place on this accidental accident,” Binaghi said.
“For Jannik, it was a feat to keep everything hidden and then manage the media avalanche. Now, in my opinion the most acute phases of the storm have passed. When will the judgment arrive? The first months of 2025 will probably be decisive.”
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