It is hard to dispute the fact that Italian tennis ace Jannik Sinner is one of the finest talents there is among the new generation of ATP stars. Equipped with an astoundingly fearless game and refreshingly aggressive strokes, the lean 21-year-old stands in the very front of the line of next-gen stars who are touted to take the game forward. Quite contrary to his fierce style of play on the court, Sinner is also known for his gentle and humble demeanor off the court, and this seems to have caught the attention of tennis icon Billie Jean King.

In a recent interview, Billie Jean King revealed how she was smitten by the Italian during their first meeting. And it seems nothing short of a dream!

Billie Jean King opens up on enthralling encounter with Jannik Sinner

A pioneer of women’s tennis in many ways, 79-year-old Billie Jean King is one of the most significant figures in the history of the sport. Currently in London attending the Wimbledon Championships, which she won 6 times in her illustrious career, Jean King recalled her first meeting with Jannik Sinner in an interview with Corriere Della Sera.

She, along with her wife Ilana Kloss, was clearly enamored by the polite and kind nature of Sinner. “My wife and I were walking along Church Road. We saw this tall guy, with red hair, coming towards us. ‘I’m Jannik, I wanted to introduce myself’. Not only he recognized me, he also wanted to meet me in person. It was love at first sight”, she gushed over the 21-year-old.

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She went on, “‘Ilana and I remembered seeing Jannik play in Milan, when he won Next Gen. But in short, we didn’t imagine that he was such a nice and kind boy.”

Certainly, the extremely humble and approachable personality of Jannik Sinner struck a chord with Billie Jean King. Coming to Sinner’s present on-court endeavors on the other hand, his run at the ongoing Wimbledon ended in the semifinals as he fell short to defending champion Novak Djokovic.

READ MORE: Whopping 60-Year-Old Wimbledon Record Created by Billie Jean King All Set to Be Crushed as Elina Svitolina and Marketa Vondrousova Take Centre-Stage

Novak Djokovic eliminates Sinner from Wimbledon yet again 

The world number 8 had his dreams of lifting his maiden grand slam trophy shattered by 4-time defending champion Novak Djokovic after a 3-6, 4-6, 6-7(4) defeat to the Serb in the semifinals. Sinner looked to be in red-hot form, heading into the semis with some impressive victories in the earlier rounds at the All England Club. But the resilience of the mighty Serb proved to be too much for the young gun from Italy. Djokovic was the one to end Sinner’s Wimbledon run last year too when he won a close 5-set encounter against the Italian in the quarter-final stage.

Having said that, Sinner isn’t returning entirely empty-handed from SW19 this year. He will leave Wimbledon with the love, affection, and admiration of the iconic Billie Jean King, as is very clear from her recent revelations!

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