Jannik Sinner struggled physically during his quarter-final loss in Montreal. But on Monday, the Italian quelled any fears fans had during his press conference ahead of the Cincinnati Open, where he is the top seed.
“I feel quite good. Obviously I made nearly one week without practising before and then after playing for two, three days in a row, a bit more than usual, [that] could [have had] a potential impact to the hip,” Sinner said. “But I'm not afraid. I feel good with the hip, and I'm just looking forward to go back on court here.”
Sinner was the standout performer of the first half of the season, winning his first major title at the Australian Open before climbing to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time in June. One of the Italian’s main goals for the season was succeeding at the Paris Olympics, which he was unable to play in after being diagnosed with tonsillitis.
“This year I felt like because I was playing well, also in Paris, in Roland Garros, and knowing that Olympics are there that I can play good on that court or quite well, trying to give myself a chance for medals,” Sinner said. “But sometimes you have to accept it. Obviously it goes also in your mind after now that you missed this because you wanted to prepare it. But it's all part of the sport, and I also have to be happy with what I have, not always looking on the negatives.
“I believe that my season is going in a very, very positive way, and we just keep building on that.”
It has been a game-changing year for the 22-year-old. At the end of 2022, he advanced to the championship match of the Nitto ATP Finals and earned multiple wins against Novak Djokovic. But in 2024 he proved he can consistently beat the best players in the world for the biggest titles.
“We all have doubts. Sometimes, even before I won a Grand Slam, I had some doubts if I can win a Grand Slam or not. And then you reach the point where you win it,” Sinner said. “After, in your mind you know that you can do it, but you still have to work a lot for that.”
Sinner has already held World No. 1 for more than 10 weeks. He is keen to continue improving to try to stay at the top of the sport.
“If you just want to hold the position, you have to improve. And if you want to get better, you have to improve more than the others,” Sinner said. “I think it's a good balance of how much work you do and how much quality you can put in the work.”
The winner of four titles this season has not historically excelled in Cincinnati, where he has tallied a 3-3 record. But the top seed will try to turn that around over the coming week.
“Here usually I struggle a little bit to play because of the conditions, but I'm looking forward to see my reaction this year, because it's a great test for me,” Sinner said. “I believe that this tournament can give you a lot of confidence then for the US Open, which is the last Grand Slam we have throughout the year. So in my mind, this is a very important tournament.
“We go day by day. Today is my first practice day. Let's see how it feels… I have a couple of days to prepare and hopefully show some good tennis.”
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