Jannik Sinner Says Early Roland Garros Exit Benefited Him Ahead of Wimbledon: “I Got Some Extra Time”

Jannik Sinner will be seen in action next week because the third Major of the season, the Wimbledon Championships, is set to start on June 29. Sinner will be competing as the defending champion.

He will be playing in the tournament without any match practice on grass, as he withdrew from the Halle Open to manage his schedule after a gruelling clay swing. Sinner played in the three Masters 1000s on clay and won them all.

The Italian ace, in fact, also completed the Sunshine Double, so the wins in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome made him the first man in history to win the first five Masters 1000s of the season. Also, his victory in Rome made him only the second man after Novak Djokovic to complete the Career Golden Masters.

But when he entered Roland Garros to aim for the Career Grand Slam, Sinner suffered an early exit. He was hit by severe full-body cramps during his second-round match against Juan Manuel Cerundolo and ended up losing the match in five sets. The four-time Grand Slam champion, instead of seeing the negative side of things, saw how his early exit benefited him.

I took one week off and spent some time with my friends and family, which was really important for me. And then after that, we went straight back to practice, because now there’s a big run coming up—Wimbledon, of course, but we also did a lot of work for the US swing that comes after. We don’t have a lot of time to practice for that usually.

Jannik Sinner told Vogue

Sinner was seen practicing on the hardcourts of Monaco with Holger Rune, who is nursing the Achilles tendon injury he suffered during last year’s Stockholm Open.

I’m always trying to see the positives in situations, and the positive part of going out early of Roland-Garros—even though I would have of course liked to go deeper—is getting some extra time. We try to maximize every day, so there have been a lot of long practice sessions, and I’m very happy with the shape and mental state I’m in right now.

Jannik Sinner added

Last year at Wimbledon, Sinner defeated arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz in the final. Had the Spaniard won, he would have completed a hat-trick of the grass-court Major.

Jannik Sinner on playing Wimbledon in Carlos Alcaraz’s absence

This season, the tennis world will miss seeing Carlos Alcaraz in action at SW19 as he is nursing an arm injury he suffered while playing in Barcelona. Jannik Sinner, during his interview with Vogue, was asked how it will feel to play at Wimbledon in the absence of the seven-time Grand Slam champion.

As I’ve said many times before, tennis needs Carlos. I wish him a speedy recovery, and I know that he has a great team around him that will be supportive and help him on the way back.

Sinner has so far lifted only two titles on grass: last year’s Wimbledon and the 2024 Halle Open (beat Hubert Hurkacz). Although Sinner will be the overwhelming favorite to defend his title in Alcaraz’s absence, Novak Djokovic will also try to use this opportunity to finally end his title drought. It was the Serb whom Alcaraz defeated in the Wimbledon finals in 2023 and 2024.

Another contender for the title is the newest Grand Slam champion, Alexander Zverev, who clinched the Roland Garros title by overcoming Flavio Cobolli in five sets. It was the first time since 2024 that a player other than Alcaraz or Sinner won a Major. Sascha has never made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon and suffered an opening-round exit last year.

Also read: Jack Draper Reflects on His Worrying Decline Following A String of Injuries in the Last Twelve Months