Jannik Sinner and Me

Jannik Sinner and Me

Last Thursday I went to the Miami Open, as I have done many times before. It was hard to get to, crowded, hot, expensive, and you had to wait forever to get into a court. I vowed not to come again—better to stay home and watch it on TV. I was watching a so-so match in the scorching heat with my friend Eddy. Then a rumor arose in the stands that Jannik Sinner, the world number 2, was on the practice courts. Abruptly, I left the stadium and repaired to the practice courts. The trouble was that his court was surrounded by fans, reverently watching; I couldn’t see him for the life of me, standing ten feet back from the fence. Eventually I found a chink in the sea of heads through which I could just see the Sinner face, so familiar to me from TV. At that moment I felt the whole trip had been worthwhile, though I couldn’t actually see him hit a ball. That is what tennis can do to you. However, as the minutes passed, the crowd in front thinned out to the point that after twenty minutes, I was right at the fence with a perfectly clear view of the man. Oh, heaven! I could happily watch him hit balls for a full half an hour. I studied his backhand carefully, shot after shot. I let it sink into my brain. I let his personality wash over me, cool as a cucumber. I observed his physique: very tall, very skinny. The whole day was vindicated. It had even begun to cool down. But I also picked up something new about the Sinner man: his walk—erect, calm, loose, giraffe-like. I determined to copy it and did so immediately the practice was over. Remember, I am five foot six and he is a good six four. Yet I got it: I can now do the Sinner walk. I showed it to a pal of mine (Jim) over at the tennis center yesterday, a retired coach. He saw it immediately and even tried to copy my copy, quite accurately. So, as a result of my trip, I can now walk around the tennis court looking like Jannik Sinner (I will keep working on my backhand). Life does sometimes offer small delights. And it is true that I felt his influence as I hit yesterday—a kind of calm controlled power. I channeled the great Jannik Sinner.