Sinner Proud to Spearhead Italian Movement After Taking Top Ranking 

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning his Men's Singles quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2024. (EPA)
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning his Men's Singles quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2024. (EPA)
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Sinner Proud to Spearhead Italian Movement After Taking Top Ranking 

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning his Men's Singles quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2024. (EPA)
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning his Men's Singles quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2024. (EPA)

Jannik Sinner took an unexpected path to the world number one ranking on Tuesday after Novak Djokovic's French Open withdrawal but the youngster said it was the culmination of years of hard work and represented a proud moment for Italy.

Sinner arrived at Roland Garros needing to reach the final to assure himself of the top spot next week but got confirmation when organizers announced that Djokovic had pulled out with a knee injury sustained in his fourth-round win on Monday.

It meant the 22-year-old, who was informed of the news shortly after his 6-2 6-4 7-6(3) quarter-final win over Grigor Dimitrov, becomes the first Italian man to achieve the feat.

"It means a lot to me for sure. It's not the way we all were expecting. He (Djokovic) had two long, tough matches, five sets, so it's tough. The first one he finished really late also," Sinner told reporters.

"It's tough also for the tournament. Novak retiring, it's always tough. Talking about myself, I'm very happy about this achievement. It's a lot of work we put in daily. It's a daily routine. Obviously happy to have this number.

"In two days there's a very important match for me, the semi-finals (against Carlos Alcaraz), so I'm focused about that at the moment. But yes, happy to have this number now."

Sinner, who guided Italy to the Davis Cup title last year, said the country deserved its recent successes.

"It means a lot, but I think it's great for Italy. We're a great country with great coaches and players and we can see this now how this moment is," Sinner said.

"I'm happy to be part of this Italian movement. People, they start to play tennis now more and more, which is great to see. I think that's the most important."

Sinner's game has moved to another level since he started to work with Darren Cahill, who with Simone Vagnozzi helped him win his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

"We started to work now nearly two years (ago). It's a huge pleasure for me to have him. I still remember the first week we had in Eastbourne on grass. Immediately I had good feelings with him because he has a lot of experience obviously," Sinner said.

"I know he brought different kind of players to world number one. He had great achievements also with different players. He knows how to adapt to each player and I think this is a quality that's amazing.

"Him and also the combination with Simone is really good. They're two different coaches, but they work together well. They are humble and they respect each other. The combination is very good. I'm lucky to have both of them and the rest of the team."



Kane Hat Trick against Augsburg Hides Bayern's Concerning Lack of Goals

Harry Kane of Munich (R) celebrates with teammates after scoring the 2-0 lead during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, 22 November 2024. EPA/RONALD WITTEK
Harry Kane of Munich (R) celebrates with teammates after scoring the 2-0 lead during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, 22 November 2024. EPA/RONALD WITTEK
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Kane Hat Trick against Augsburg Hides Bayern's Concerning Lack of Goals

Harry Kane of Munich (R) celebrates with teammates after scoring the 2-0 lead during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, 22 November 2024. EPA/RONALD WITTEK
Harry Kane of Munich (R) celebrates with teammates after scoring the 2-0 lead during the German Bundesliga soccer match between FC Bayern Munich and FC Augsburg in Munich, Germany, 22 November 2024. EPA/RONALD WITTEK

Harry Kane scored a hat trick including two penalties for Bayern Munich to beat Augsburg 3-0 in the Bundesliga on Friday.
The win stretched Bayern’s lead to eight points ahead of the rest of the 11th round, and Kane took his goals tally to a league-leading 14, The Associated Press reported.
The England forward is the fastest player to 50 goals in the Bundesliga in what was his 43rd game.
However, coach Vincent Kompany should be concerned by his team’s ongoing difficulty of scoring in matches it dominates. Bayern previously defeated St. Pauli and Benfica only 1-0.
Kompany’s team had to wait until stoppage time before Kane sealed the result with his second penalty. Two minutes later, Kane scored with a header after controlling Leon Goretzka's cross with his first touch for a flattering scoreline.
“We had to be patient,” Kane said. “And at halftime that’s what we said, to keep doing what we’re doing. We had a few chances in the first half and we just had to be a bit more clinical and obviously, thankfully, we got the penalty to kind of open the game up.”
Mads Pedersen was penalized for handball following a VAR review and Kane duly broke the deadlock in the 63rd.
Bayern continued as before with 80% possession, but had to wait for Keven Schlotterbeck to be penalized through VAR for a foul on Kane. Kane sealed the result in the third minute of stoppage time and there was still time for him to grab another.
It’s Bayern’s sixth consecutive win without conceding a goal since it conceded four at Barcelona (4-1) on Oct. 23 in the Champions League.
“You can see now that we have a solid defense and that's the basis, also in games like today's,” Bayern midfielder Joshua Kimmich said. “When it's a game of patience, then it's important for us to know that sometimes one goal will have to do. Like today we added two more before the finish, but in the end you only need to score one more than the opponent.”
Bayern next hosts Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday, then Borussia Dortmund away in the Bundesliga next weekend, before defending champion Bayer Leverkusen visits in the third round of the German Cup.