Vavassori: The sound off Sinner's racquet is different

Five years ago, a 17-year-old Jannik Sinner won his first ATP Challenger Tour title in Bergamo, Italy. Then outside the Top 500 in the PIF ATP Rankings, the Italian warmed up for one of his matches with countryman Andrea Vavassori.

On Friday, they will compete against one another for the first time in the second round of the Miami Open presented by Itau.

“It’s a great opportunity to play against him,” Vavassori told ATPTour.com.

This will be just the third main-draw ATP Masters 1000 singles match of the 28-year-old’s career. One of those came at last year’s Mutua Madrid Open, where Vavassori stunned former World No. 1 Andy Murray. Now he will get a crack at the best player in his country’s history, the reigning Australian Open champion.

“I didn’t know him before because our age is a little bit different, but I think he’s a great guy,” Vavassori said of Sinner. “He’s doing an amazing job with his team. He surrounded himself with great people and I think also his calmness is unbelievable.

“He’s a normal guy also, as he’s said in interviews. He’s a normal guy that is doing an amazing job and following his dreams. It’s inspiring for us also in Italy.”

When they briefly hit together, Sinner was still a teen on the rise. Vavassori saw something special in him.

“For sure you could see when you heard the sound of the ball, the explosion, I think you could understand that he was different from others. It’s great to see all the improvements he did in these years and also his mentality,” Vavassori said. “The sound when he plays forehands and backhands is different from the other players.”

As Vavassori said with a laugh, “I will try to do my best anyway.” The Italian has enjoyed a special journey of his own.

From the age of three, Vavassori played tennis. The sport quickly became a major part of his life as his grandfather had a court at his house in Rivoli. In fact, his father learned the sport on the same court and became a coach.

“It was fun. I started to play more days in the week,” Vavassori said. “I had normal school so when I finished at 18, I started to do more professional [training], also travelling and playing on the professional circuit in the Futures. But I had a normal growth, so it was step by step.”

According to Vavassori, his family enjoyed “special moments” on his grandfather’s court. His sister, Sara, who is two years younger, would play there with him and tennis became a family activity.

“My grandfather was just a fan of the sport,” Vavassori said. “He wanted to see me grow in tennis. He followed all my tennis life when I was a little child and he was one of my biggest fans.”

Vavassori did not crack the Top 500 in the PIF ATP Rankings until he was 23 and his initial success at the upper echelons of the sport came in doubles. In 2020 he broke into the Top 100 and has since won four ATP Tour doubles titles.

_{^{Davide and Andrea Vavassori at the Miami Open presented by Itau. Photo Credit: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour}}

Doubles success helped his singles game. The pressure points in doubles helped him improve all aspects of his tennis and with a big serve and forehand, and no problem coming to the net, the Italian is proving a tough out.

“A lot of players are not used to this kind of game,” Vavassori said. “I think I can do real damage to my opponents.”

Last June Vavassori reached a career-high World No. 128 and is making a charge towards his Top 100 breakthrough on the singles court. His father is still coaching him and is in Miami, where he will play one of the biggest matches of his career.

“It’s incredible but we work every day for these matches and we are enjoying it,” Davide said. “When you work hard and do the job every day, the joy is bigger.”

“It’s a great journey. I think we did a great job. I grew up step by step, so every year I put a brick on a brick and my level increased. I didn’t have stops,” Andrea said. “I think my doubles career helped me a lot in singles and my confidence is going up and up. I think it’s the best moment of my career so far, so I have to keep dreaming and we will see what will happen, of course.”