ROMA. Landed in Shanghai after the shared flight with Carlos Alcaraz and his staff (in the photo posted on social media), Jannik Sinner is preparing to take the field in what will be his second participation in the Shanghai Mastersthe penultimate Masters1000 of the season which the world number one arrives after the final lost in Beijing against his friend and rival from Murcia.
Tomorrow morning 5 October (in Italy) he will face the Japanese, number 91 ATP, Taro Daniel.
“I’m happy to be back here, this is a truly special tournament. I just finished my first training session – declared Sinner during his first press conference – I feel good, I’ve recovered. I didn’t do anything in particular other than attend a Nike event with Carlos which was also a nice opportunity to meet some fans. I tried to rest a bit, I went to the gym and as mentioned today I did my first training session. We hope to be ready for tomorrow’s match.”
In the days that await him since his debut, Sinner retraced what happened in the more than three hours of play in the last act of the China Open: “It can happen. It ended 7-6 in the third and could have ended either wayin the end he won but I had my chances in the third set and he could have won the first which instead went in my favor – the Italian says coldly – In the second I had other opportunities, break points on 4 -3 which I wasn’t able to exploit and also at 5-4. In the third he was ahead 3-0 in the tie-break and he recovered thanks to some terrific shots. It was a great match, that’s how it is.”
A rivalry, the one with Alcaraz, as fiery on the pitch as it is light once the limelight goes out. So much so that they embarked together for Shanghai with their respective teams, amid mutual smiles and compliments: “Between us it’s simpler because off the pitch we are alike. On the pitch we are more different, but it’s normal, it’s our nature. But once out I listen to him and I have the impression that he too likes to surround himself with people who are dear to him like me – Sinner reflected – He pushes me to do better, which is a good thing, there are aspects of my game on which I have to improve in the next few days and during the off-season and I will train to do so.”
The satisfaction remains for a year in which “I feel I have made great steps forward – concluded the South Tyrolean – but which has not changed me as a person, I continue to surround myself with excellent people who support me every day and this means a lot for me. I feel in an excellent position and next year, if I receive the same question, I hope to be able to answer like this again.”
Sinner finally returned to Wada’s appeal for the Clostebol case: “The three hearings I have had were all in my favor and I remain confident that everything will be resolved for the best, a different outcome would leave me even more surprised. It is not a situation in which I feel comfortable, there’s no doubt, I thought it was all over but it’s not like that and it’s not easy.”
2024-10-07 23:39:43