French Open: New World No.1 Jannik Sinner happy to be leading ...

Jannik Sinner feels that him becoming the new World No.1 is a great achievement for Italy as tennis continues to grow in the country. Sinner became the World No.1 after Novak Djokovic had to pull out of the French Open.

Sinner became the World No.1 on June 4 (Courtesy: Reuters)

Newly-crowned World No.1 Jannik Sinner is proud to be spearheading the Italian movement in tennis after going to the top of the rankings on June 4, Tuesday. Sinner, who won the Australian Open this year, reached the semi-finals after overcoming Grigor Dimitrov. It was reported earlier that the Italian had to reach the final of the French Open to get the No.1 spot.

However, Novak Djokovic's withdrawal from Roland Garros due to an injury allowed Sinner to climb to the top. The 22-year-old, as quoted by Reuters, said that it was a great moment for Italy and many turning their attention towards the sport in recent times.

"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 went on sympathise with Djokovic after his withdrawal from the French Open and felt the absence of the Serbian will affect the Grand Slam. Sinner expressed his happiness being the new World No.1 and felt it was the outcome of the hardwork he had put in over the years.

"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 will now take on Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-final of the French Open on June 7.