Jannik Sinner Sees No Reason to Skip Rome Masters Despite Back-to-Back Tournaments
Jannik Sinner will feature at the Rome Masters for the first time in three years.
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Jannik Sinner (Image via BBC)
Jannik Sinner extended his relentless ATP Masters 1000 winning streak after beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets at the Madrid Open final. The Italian star has now played four consecutive tournaments on tour and has not gotten more than a week’s break since Monte Carlo. He will head to Rome for the Italian Open, which begins on May 6 (Thursday).
The last time Sinner got more than a week’s rest from tour was after losing to Jakub Mensik in the quarter-finals of the Doha Open. The World No.1 had a two-week break before arriving for the Indian Wells Open at the beginning of March. Since March, he has played in four consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments.
The last time Sinner had a week’s rest was after the Monte Carlo Masters. In fact, when Carlos Alcaraz was informed that the four-time Grand Slam champion was going to play at the Monte Carlo Masters, he was surprised and revealed that he wouldn’t have taken the risk as break is a priority in the sport.
Sinner’s physical level was expected to have depleted during the Madrid Open last week. Although, he made some complaints about tiredness because of the schedule, he often found a way to deliver his best display on the court. He was no match for Zverev in the tournament final on Sunday (May 3).
He defeated the World No.3 6-1, 6-2 to become the first man to win five consecutive Masters 1000 events. He dropped just one set at the tournament and only five across his five title runs beginning at the Paris Masters. Speaking in an interview with Eurosport, he noted that he doesn’t see himself missing the Rome Masters:
Playing at home is always a special experience. At the same time, right now I just want to enjoy this. I don’t want to think about future plans. Physically I’m fine. There’s no reason not to play in Rome , of course. But, at the same time, I want to enjoy this moment . It’s been a very, very long tournament. I’ve put in a lot of effort, obviously I’m very happy, but now it’s also good to recover, especially mentally. You give so much out there and there’s a lot of pressure. So that’s it.
After-match recovery is one of the major factors in sport. When athletes play in more matches without enough time to recover it often leads to injury or fatigue. With Sinner yet to experience any of these, it means that he takes his recovery process seriously after every match and tournament.
Jannik Sinner talks about playing under pressure on tour
Jannik Sinner is one of the few players who can easily deal with pressure on the court. With him being a favorite at the Madrid Open following Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal, he performed his best to make sure he eventually won the title, dropping just one set. It wouldn’t have been seamless if it were another player at the tournament.
That’s the level of the Italian star’s mental toughness and professional display on the court. He doesn’t give room to his opponents to push him as he always claims his opportunities. During the aforementioned interview, Sinner admitted that pressure is always on him each time he takes to the court, but often tries to make sure he’s at his best:
As I always say, things can change very quickly in any situation. There are some truly great players, and they all try to beat you every day. And often the pressure is on me; you have to know how to handle that too. Novak beat me in Australia playing incredible tennis. We’ll see. I can’t predict the future. I don’t know how I’ll be physically or mentally going into the big matches and the most important tournaments.
Sinner has the chance to win his sixth Masters 1000 title at the Italian Open. The home favorite has never won the championship in his career and has missed the last two editions of the tournament. In fact, this will be the first time he will play at the Rome Masters as World No.1.
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