After witnessing some exciting tennis at the Laver Cup 2021, it’s time to turn to the Sofia Open 2021. The tournament began yesterday and will conclude on October 3, 2021. All the eyes will be on Jannik Sinner, who will be trying to defend his title this year.

World No.14 Jannik Sinner began as the top-seeded player at the Sofia Open 2021. Fans have huge expectations from him as he is the favorite to lift the trophy again this year.

“Very grateful to be back”- Jannik Sinner

In an exclusive interview to the ATP Tour before the Sofia Open 2021, Sinner mentioned that he is grateful to be back. He admitted that the crowd helped him to win the title in 2020 and seems happy that fans will be present in the stadium this year as well.

“Hopefully there will be some crowds again, which helped me a lot last year. Obviously, when you win the first tournament it’s always a special place and for me it was here, so I’m very grateful to be back,” said Sinner in the interview.

Even though Sinner is excited to play at the ATP 250 tournament, he believes that it’s going to be different this year. Even though the 19-year-old feels confident of playing well there, he claimed that he still has a long way to go in order to defend his title.

“It’s great, a lot of emotions last year… This year is very different, obviously. It’d [be] very nice to see me with the trophy, but I’m here trying to defend what I did last year and for this it’s a long way to go,” added the Italian player.

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Sinner reveals that the Sofia Open 2020 title has a special place in the trophy cabinet of his home

Talking about the last year’s Sofia Open trophy, Sinner disclosed that it was the first trophy in his trophy cabinet. Interestingly, it was the first title that he won on the ATP Tour and thus, holds a special place in his heart.

“It’s at my home in Monaco. When I enter my apartment it’s the first thing I see on the left-hand side. It’s very, very nice when I go back at home to see some trophies and obviously the first trophy of my career,” concluded the World No.14 player.

Jannik Sinner is currently at the 11th spot in the race to the ATP Finals in Turin. Therefore, he will be eyeing all the 250 points at the Sofia Open 2021. Will he be able to play his first ever ATP Finals this year?

Also Read: Who are Jannik Sinner’s Parents, Johann Sinner and Siglinde Sinner?