Jannik Sinner once defeated an opponent so convincingly that he nearly drove him into early retirement. In recent years, the Italian, 24, has cemented himself as one of the two dominant forces in men’s tennis, standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow trophy-hooverer Carlos Alcaraz. Between them, they have claimed the last eight Grand Slam titles and are beginning to mount a challenge to the legacies of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Sinner may not have been quite as hyped as Alcaraz during his teenage years – but he still packed a punch back then. At the 2019 Rome Masters, a tall, wiry 17-year-old Sinner – ranked No. 263 at the time – shocked former American No. 1 Steve Johnson in the first round. Despite having just two ATP matches under his belt at the time, Sinner won in three sets – and the defeat hit Johnson so hard that he immediately phoned his agent to say he was quitting tennis.
“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,” Johnson, 35, said on the his Nothing Major podcast last year. “So I walk out there and the kid’s like 6’3, 112 pounds, like super skinny and you’re just like, ‘Oh, this could go bad for me. You gotta win, right?’ Because this is a bad look on centre court.”
After breezing through the first set 6-1, Johnson played “horrible tennis” and suddenly found himself battling against the tide after losing the second set by the same margin. He continued: “And then the third set rolls around. I’m just like, ‘Please win, you’ve got to win this, just find a way.’ I either serve for the match or had match points and then lost 7-5.”
However, it was Sinner who ultimately found a way, taking the final set 7-5 and securing a career-launching win over a former top-30 player. But while the victory was a moment of pure joy for Sinner, the result sent Johnson into a mini crisis.
“I called my agent and my coach wasn’t even there at the time, he was flying in the next day, but I’m like, ‘I just lost to – this kid sucks, he’s terrible. I’m literally quitting tennis.'”
But while Johnson didn’t see Sinner’s potential, his team absolutely did. “I started talking to my agent, couple of the other coaches, 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.’
Of course, history proved Johnson spectacularly wrong. Sinner’s rise has been meteoric, with 24 career titles, including four Grand Slam singles triumphs and over £40million in prize money.
As for Johnson, he didn’t quit after that fateful match. He continued his career until retiring in March 2024. Since hanging up his racket, Johnson has stayed connected to the sport.
He’s continued hosting the Nothing Major podcast, sharing candid stories from his pro days and in July 2025, he was elected to the ITA Men’s Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame for his legendary USC career, where he won four NCAA team titles and set a record with a 72-match win streak.
Looking back, Johnson is gracious about his misjudgment. “Little did I know like four years from then, he’s going to be making $100m a year winning Slams and being by far and away the No. 1 player,” he said.