"He was able to do something that I still don't know how to do" - Jannik Sinner on what sets Novak Djokovic apart from himself and other players
World No. 15 Jannik Sinner is one of the most exciting young players on the tour. the 21-year-old has taken big steps in his relatively new career in terms of results and has impressed everyone with his gameplay. In his interview with Europort, Sinner revealed that he still had to improve the mental aspect of the game in the future.
The young Italian cited the example of his Wimbledon quarterfinals loss to 21-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic this season. Sinner mentioned that he was still not sure how the Serbian great got the better of him in five sets.
"You have to understand what is good for you and what is not good for you. And you understand it only by playing as many matches as possible against strong players in this type of tournament," Sinner said.
"For example, what Nole did against me at Wimbledon: he was able to do something that I still don't know how to do, which I miss. Which is not just raising the level of tennis, but it's a mental thing. I was too slow to understand at that time how he played, it's that was the difference," the Italian added.
"I stopped after Paris because I knew I couldn't play here" - Jannik Sinner on his decision to call off his 2022 season early
Jannik Sinner decided to call time on his 2022 season after losing his opening-round match at Bercy against Marc-Andre Huesler in straight sets. The 21-year-old Italian had been struggling with a finger injury throughout the event. He mentioned that he was feeling pain in the finger and decided to stop playing tennis to nurse the injury.
"I stopped after Paris because I knew I couldn't play here. I wanted to train these two weeks for the Davis Cup, but I had this pain in my finger. I had a checkup last Thursday, November 10th and I found out I couldn't play anymore," Sinner stated.
"So we've already started preparing for next year, without lifting weights and without straining the hand. When my finger gets better, I'll start playing tennis again. The problem is with the index finger of my right hand. Honestly, at the beginning, I didn't even think it was so bad. I felt a blow in the match against Huesler when I was serving. I didn't think it was that serious, but the more I went on the more I felt it," Jannik Sinner added.