After winning the Indian Wells Masters, Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner dedicated the victory to his friend, Formula 1 rising talent Kimi Antonelli. Following tradition, Sinner signed the television camera at the end of the match, writing “Bravo Kimi” in tribute to the young driver of the Mercedes-Benz Group.
The Italian champion, a well-known motorsport enthusiast, also mentioned Antonelli during the trophy ceremony. “This is a special day. I’m a huge Formula 1 fan and it’s fantastic to see a young driver like Kimi Antonelli representing Italy at such a high level.” Earlier in the day, Sinner had also celebrated Antonelli’s success on social media with an Instagram story.
After the celebrations, Sinner reflected on his victory over Daniil Medvedev. “I feel amazing. I’m almost speechless. It was a very tough match. It’s great to see Daniil playing at this level again. This result makes me proud and I’m happy to share it with the people close to me.”
A key moment came in the tie-break. “I kept believing in myself and trusting my shots. I never gave up. The third set would have been very tough, so it was better to finish it in two.”
Speaking in the press conference, Sinner stressed the importance of the tournament. “It was the first big event after the Australian Open. We tried to arrive early and prepare in the most professional way possible. I had never won here before, so this means a lot to me.”
He will now quickly shift his focus to the next tournament. “I have a couple of days to relax, but there isn’t much time between here and the Miami Open. I’ll try to play my best tennis there too, and we’ll see what happens.”