Jannik Sinner returned to the tennis courts at the 2024 Halle Open and won his first match, downplaying his first win as the reigning world number one.
The Italian became world number one after Roland Garros due to a combination of Novak Djokovic failing to make the final and him making the semi-final. He lost early the previous year, which is why he gained a lot of points and replaced the Serbian as world number one.
That was last week, and this week is his second official week as the top-ranked player on the ATP Tour. However, he does not pay too much attention to it, confirming after his most recent win that he’s not really considering winning his first match as world number one.
For him, the most important thing was playing without pain and just winning the match because he wanted to win; that was his goal.
“I just love to play tennis. That’s it. It’s a great number for sure. But In my mind I know I can still improve. I was looking forward to coming back to such a special place. This tournament believed in me.”