Jannik Sinner revealed in an interview with Tennis Channel on Monday following his first-round Roland Garros victory that his hip injury was not all that ailed him in the leadup to the clay-court major.
“In the beginning I was more worried. Then we made some tests, we've seen okay, it's not that bad,” Sinner said. “I got sick for quite a long time, so I didn't touch a racquet for nearly three weeks, which is a lot before a Grand Slam.”
The good news for this year’s Australian Open champion is that he arrived in Paris without apprehension about his hip, which forced him to withdraw in the middle of Madrid and to miss his home ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.
“When you are injured and then you come back, you never know what's going to happen in one way. But I was very sure that the hip was feeling good,” Sinner said. “We made a lot of work in the gym, trying to be ready for the first-round match. I was feeling, hip-wise, very good. Also movement, I was expecting a little bit worse, actually. So I'm happy how I moved today.
“For sure, there are some things we have to improve in the next days, but I'm getting stronger day by day. I'm happy to be in this position where I am right now. Thanks to my team, we worked a lot, so yeah, I'm happy to be on court and let's see what's coming in the next round."
Starting strong 💪@janniksin gets the day's first win over Eubanks 6-3 6-3 6-4.@rolandgarros | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/ECBaudhoYh
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The Italian explained that he only had nine days to fully prepare for Roland Garros, which he admitted was “not much” for a major. The second seed defeated American Christopher Eubanks 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the second round, in which he will face 37-year-old Richard Gasquet.
“That's why I say that these kind of matches are good to get back on rhythm a little bit,” Sinner said. “Tomorrow is going to be a day off where we work quite intensely to get back into rhythm and then we'll see what I can do in the next round. I'm very relaxed.
“I don't have big expectations at the moment. So I'm just trying to be as ready as possible and then we'll see what I can do.”
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