"It doesn't bother me": Jannik Sinner makes frank admission about rankings as Carlos Alcaraz looms

The race to World No.1 is on and for Jannik Sinner, he could even have the dream nature of being in the top spot as of the Rome Open when he returns home as a Grand Slam champion in front of an adoring crowd. But he made an honest admission after thrashing Sebastian Korda.

A 6-1, 6-2 win for Sinner against Korda, he said that he follows what is going on, but also doesn't really care much for it. Also another battle rages as he has Carlos Alcaraz snapping at his heels to return to the World No.2 spot if Sinner doesn't make adequate progress this week. That will be fleeting though with Sinner defending little points in the coming weeks and Alcaraz not playing this week and potentially not in Barcelona. He would drop 500 points if he doesn't play next week.

But for Sinner, it is more about achieving his goals instead of rankings with Roland Garros and Olympic Games both on clay in mind for him this season. He said his mindset doesn't change either and he is fully invested in adding more titles instead of numbers in the rankings.

“I obviously follow what’s going on, but I don’t look at other people so much,” he told Italian reporters. “I know that I am a good player myself. Being No 2, 3 or 4 in the world doesn’t change anything for me, it doesn’t bother me. It’s a great satisfaction to be No 2, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to play well and achieve my goals, namely Roland Garros and the Olympic Games.

“We take the rest as it comes, trying to do the best we can. My perspective doesn’t change.”

But also he admitted on clay that he needs more time hence the difference despite pummelling American ace Korda. “It’s a different game, I never have problems on the surface I play on and I think it’s an advantage in general,” he said.

“From the age of 14 to 18 I played a lot on clay, so it’s not that I never played. My game is better on hard courts, but I can play well here too. I just have to understand how to use certain shots, I need a little more time, but I like playing on clay.”