The cheering that arose on Sunday evening after Jannik Sinner’s converted match point in the Inalpi Arena in Turin was not a celebration, but an outburst. 12,000 Tifosi went crazy when it was clear that Sinner had won the ATP Finals, the most important tournament of the tennis year after the Grand Slams.

Thanks to his great successes, his brilliant play and his humble demeanor, Sinner has become the most popular individual athlete in the country. An entire stadium, an entire city, an entire country has built up and united behind their new superstar these days – despite or perhaps because of the doping investigations by the World Anti-Doping Agency Wada that are still taking place in the background, which were largely hushed up in northern Italy this week.