Jannik Sinner is voted the Most Improved Player of the Year
This year’s Most Improved Player of the Year is Jannik Sinner, of course. Following his victory this week in the Fans’ Favourite Award, Sinner has accepted his second ATP Award of 2021.
Sinner defeated Danil Medvedev in both of the ATP 500 finals in Beijing and Vienna to win four ATP Tour titles in Montpellier, Toronto (including his maiden Masters 1000 medal). Moreover, he made it to the Wimbledon semifinals for the first time, the final in Miami, and two Masters 1000 semifinals in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo. At all four Grand Slam events in his early career, Sinner advanced to the quarterfinals.
Sinner was the highest-ranked Italian player in the history of the ATP Rankings, tied with Adriano Panatta. With a record of 64 victories to 15 losses, the Italian player established an Open Era record for the most victories by an Italian player in a single season. In 2023, Sinner had a personal record of 13 top 10 victories, which included two victories against Novak Djokovic and two victories over Carlos Alcaraz. Over the preceding three seasons, he earned nine top-10 victories.
Sinner secured his fifth consecutive top 5 finish at the ATP Finals in Turin by defeating Djokovic in a third set tie-break. A week later, in the Davis Cup semifinal, Sinner defeated Novak Djokovic by saving three match points in the third set. Sinner became the first player to overcome Djokovic with three consecutive match points, and the fourth man overall to accomplish it. In the pivotal doubles match, Sinner and Lorenzo Sonego defeated Djokovic and Miomir Kecmanovic to seal the tie and enable Italy to make it to the Davis Cup final for the first time since 1998.
Jannik Sinner: “I felt like I was mentally much stronger, especially in the second half of the season.” When things weren’t going my way, I wasn’t moaning as much on the court. These kinds of things, in my opinion, can occasionally make a difference. I’m glad to report that I participated in a number of significant games all year long in the largest stadiums available. Hopefully, this will be helpful for the upcoming season.
The Coach of the Year Award went to Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill of Sinner. Additionally, Ben Shelton, Christopher Eubanks, and Matteo Arnaldi were nominated for the 2023 Award’s Most Improved Player of the Year.