Jannik Sinner says he has a long way to go to reach Rafael Nadal's level, hopes to get one more shot at the Spaniard
Italian teenager Jannik Sinner was handed a brutal beatdown by Rafael Nadal in their fourth-round match at Roland Garros on Monday. Nadal overcame a slow start to secure a 7-5, 6-3, 6-0 win and move into the quarterfinals for the 15th time in Paris.
Jannik Sinner, for most of the match, had no answer to Nadal's weight of shot and he ended up committing a whopping 40 unforced errors. The Spaniard also struck 31 winners compared to Sinner's 11.
Many expected Sinner to put on a better show than he did in last year's French Open quarterfinals -- where he lost 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1 -- and possibly even become the first player since 2019 to take a set off the Spaniard. But the Italian was nowhere near his best and failed to pose a threat to the 13-time champion.
Speaking to the media after his loss, Jannik Sinner admitted Rafael Nadal was operating at an incredibly high level and hitting the ball exceptionally hard. The teenager said he was often made to look clueless by Nadal on the court and acknowledged he had a long way to go to reach the Mallorcan's level.
“I think he (Rafael Nadal) played [at a] very high level today," Sinner said. "He was [hitting] the ball very hard. That means you are not going to play the tennis you would like to,” Sinner said. “He was playing and I was only running during some points. The way is very long and I hope I can still have one more chance to play against him.”
Jannik Sinner served for the opening set at 5-4, but was plagued by nerves; he got broken to love and was then always playing catch-up to Rafael Nadal.
Sinner expressed his disappointment at being unable to close out the first set but credited Nadal for raising his level in the crunch moments.
“I was up, serving for the set in the first set, but it's a long way to go to win against Rafa. Obviously very disappointed how it went today. But he played better than me,” Sinner admitted. “In the beginning he was playing well. Then at some point he was not pushing the ball that hard anymore, so I went up with the break. Then after he changed it once more. The way to [get] to that level is very long, still very, very long.”
Tough to play against Rafael Nadal, Federer & Djokovic because they are very strong mentally: Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner went on to showerpraise on Rafael Nadal's mental fortitude.
“I think mentally [Rafa] is very strong," Sinner said. "That's what I'm trying to do, as well, stay strong. I'm trying to not give him any free space."
Sinner pointed out that it was difficult to play against Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Roger Federer as they are so strong mentally. The teenager pointed to how Djokovic overturned a two-set deficit against Lorenzo Musetti in their fourth-round clash on Monday.
“Obviously when you play against top guys like Rafa, Roger, or Novak, it's tough to play against them because they are very strong mentally, which I think we have seen today as well," Jannik Sinner added. "Novak against Lorenzo, [Novak] came back from two sets to love.”
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