Steve Johnson revealed he thought he lost to “a terrible kid” after ending on the losing side to Jannik Sinner in their 2019 Rome Masters match and even wanted to finish his career because he felt so embarrassed over the defeat.
In 2019 May, a 17-year-old Sinner made his Masters debut after being handed a main draw wildcard by the Rome organizers. At the time, he already had a couple of triumphs on the ITF and Challenger levels but he was still ranked at No. 263 in the world while the American was a top-60 player.
Even though clay wasn’t Johnson’s favorite surface, the former world No. 21 had the edge in the matchup and he started by easily winning the first set with a 6-1 scoreline. But then, the home favorite completely turned around the situation and completed a 1-6 6-1 7-5 comeback.
In the third set, Sinner was 2-5 down and even faced a match point on his serve in the eighth game before winning five games in a row. For the Italian, it was his first ATP-level win.
“I don’t know if you guys ever felt this, you play like a local wildcard or a hometown kid and there’s different feelings you have. It was 2019. So I walked out there and the kid’s like 6’3″, 112 pounds, super skinny and you’re like, ‘Oh this could go bad for me, you gotta win, right, because this is just a bad look on center court.’ So I win the first set 6-1 or 6-2, then I lose the second set bad and then the third set. I either served for the match or had match points and then lost 7-5,” Johnson said on the Nothing Major Podcast.
Steve Johnson© Nothing Major Podcast/Instagram
Johnson wanted to quit tennis: I’d be his only ATP win…
The American, who won four ATP titles during his career, was so devastated over the loss simply because he had a very poor of opinion of Sinner’s game and he also couldn’t believe that he blew allowed himself to blow a big lead in their Rome first-round match. While his agent tried to calm him down by explaining that the Italian was a very talented individual primed for big things, the 34-year-old didn’t believe.
Now, that same player is a two-time Grand Slam champion and the world No. 1 player, who posted a 73-6 record in 2024. And Johnson is the first to admit he was wrong in his assessment.
“I called my agent Sam Duvall, ‘I just lost, this kid sucks, he’s terrible, I’m literally quitting tennis for the rest of my life,’ and then I started talking to my agent, couple of the other coaches, and they’re like, ‘Give it time, this kid is going to be unreal. I’m like, ‘You guys are so stupid, this guy is never going to make it anywhere. He’s going to have one win and it’s going to be me. This is never going to change.’ Little did I know like four years from then, he’s going to be making $100 million a year winning Slams and being by far and away the No. 1 player,’” Johnson added.
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After Rome, Sinner ousted the American in 2021 Washington and also claimed victory in their third and last meeting at the 2022 Australian Open.
Sinner absolutely dominated in 2024
Apart from winning the Australian Open and the US Open, the 23-year-old also triumphed at the ATP Finals and the Masters events in Miami, Cincinnati and Shanghai. Also, he was victorious in Rotterdam and Halle and also led Italy to winning the Davis Cup Finals.
However, when recently asked if he accomplished his goals for 2024, he offered a philosophical answer.
“It’s tough to say. I mean, my goal was to understand what I can achieve this year. There was no specific goal of winning a Grand Slam or being No. 1 or whatever. It’s going to be the same next year: whatever we can catch, we take, and the rest we learn. I think that was the mentality we approached this whole year, trying to raise my level in specific moments, which I’ve done throughout this year,” Sinner said following his ATP Finals victory.
Also, despite posting a brutal 73-6 record this year, the world No. 1 insisted he was far from perfect.
“I actually believe there is still gap of improvement. I mean, today I served very, very good at times, which was not the case throughout the whole tournament. There are still certain shots and points what I can make sometimes better, but are small details. The higher you play level-wise, the more details make the difference,” Sinner said.
Tennis World USA