Sinner Savors Rotterdam Success After Australian Open High 

Italy's Jannik Sinner poses with the trophy after beating Australia's Alex de Minaur in the men's singles ABN AMRO Rotterdam Open tennis tournament in Ahoy, Rotterdam on February 18, 2024. (AFP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner poses with the trophy after beating Australia's Alex de Minaur in the men's singles ABN AMRO Rotterdam Open tennis tournament in Ahoy, Rotterdam on February 18, 2024. (AFP)
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Sinner Savors Rotterdam Success After Australian Open High 

Italy's Jannik Sinner poses with the trophy after beating Australia's Alex de Minaur in the men's singles ABN AMRO Rotterdam Open tennis tournament in Ahoy, Rotterdam on February 18, 2024. (AFP)
Italy's Jannik Sinner poses with the trophy after beating Australia's Alex de Minaur in the men's singles ABN AMRO Rotterdam Open tennis tournament in Ahoy, Rotterdam on February 18, 2024. (AFP)

The Rotterdam title may pale in comparison to winning the Australian Open Grand Slam but Jannik Sinner said his victory in the ATP 500 event was still important to him after the Italian rose to a career-high number three in the world rankings.

Sinner, who lifted his first major at Melbourne Park by defeating Daniil Medvedev in the final, stretched his winning run in 2024 to 12 matches with a 7-5 6-4 victory over Alex de Minaur in the Rotterdam final on Sunday.

The 22-year-old's second trophy of the season means he will leapfrog Medvedev to number three when the rankings are updated later on Monday.

"Every time you win a title, it doesn't matter how big, it means a lot," Sinner said.

"I had a bit more attention (as Australian Open champion), but when you earn something, you have to deal with that. I felt like I was trying to put 100% effort into everything I've done and that's the result of this week.

"It's going to start again from zero at Indian Wells, so I'm already trying to improve. Let's see what's coming."

Sinner will look to gain ground on world number two and defending Indian Wells champion Carlos Alcaraz in the hardcourt tournament next month.

"My team, we did a really good job a few weeks ago and now we did a very good job here. I'm really proud of the level I played throughout the week," he said.

"We've been in tough situations but we handled it the right way. We'll always try to improve, it's the most important."



‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
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‘Flooding Rains’ Threaten to Dampen Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony

Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)
Paris 2024 Olympics - Opening Ceremony - Paris, France - July 26, 2024. Spectators are seen behind the Eiffel Tower ahead of the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics. (Reuters)

The Paris Olympics look likely to get off to a soggy start.

Meteo-France, the French weather service, is predicting “flooding rains” Friday evening when the opening ceremony is set to unroll along the Seine River. But the show is set to go on as planned, starting at 1:30 p.m. EDT/7:30 p.m. CEST and should last more than three hours.

Already in the late afternoon, skies were gray with intermittent drizzle. There was a silver lining, though, with temperatures expected to stay relatively warm throughout the evening.

Instead of a traditional march into a stadium, about 6,800 athletes will parade on more than 90 boats on the Seine River for 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Though 10,700 athletes are expected to compete at these Olympics, hundreds of soccer players are based outside Paris, surfers are in Tahiti and many have yet to arrive for their events in the second week, organizers said Thursday.

Hundreds of thousands of people, including 320,000 paying and invited ticket-holders, are expected to line the Seine’s banks as athletes are paraded along the river on boats.