"Tough to accept this" - Jannik Sinner on crucial umpiring error that contributed to his Monte-Carlo SF loss against Stefanos Tsitsipas
Jannik Sinner's 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters campaign ended with a semifinal loss to Stefanos Tsitsipas on Saturday, the Italian's second loss of the year. More than the loss itself, it was a crucial umpiring error during the match that made headlines across the tennis world.
The first two sets were shared by the duo, with Tsitsipas taking the opener 6-4 and Sinner winning the second 6-3. The World No. 2 then earned an early break in the deciding set and went 3-1 up. On Tsitsipas' next serve, facing break point, the Greek missed his first serve and was at the risk of going down two breaks.
His second serve was also out, as shown by Hawk-Eye in the replay afterwards, but was not called by the line umpire. Had the call been made, Sinner would have been 4-1 up. Instead, Tsitsipas went on to save his serve, then broke the Italian's serve at 3-4 to level the match. After that, the Greek broke Jannik Sinner's serve once more to wrap up the match 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.
Speaking at his post-match press conference, the 22-year-old addressed the incident, stating that it was tough to swallow for him. At the same time, Sinner did not lament the error too much, stating that everyone can make mistakes at some point, including himself.
The reigning Australian Open champion dismissed it as something that was in the past already, and went on to praise Tsitsipas for raising his level in the decider and seizing hold of the momentum shift.
"It happened. You know, you cannot do nothing anymore. It's already the past. I mean, it's tough to accept this, yes. It's tough, a tough one to swallow, because, you know, I was playing at some point great tennis. Was, you know, yeah, playing well. You know, tactically everything went in the right direction. Everyone can make mistakes unfortunately or fortunately. Also I can make mistakes. And it went like this," Jannik Sinner said.
"Then after, you know, to having cramps, it's a consequence of most likely of this what happened, you know, because it also goes in the nervous side of the brain (smiling), and then after, it's not easy to play. I tried my best still. Stefanos raised the level, but when the momentum changes, it goes like this. This is the fun part of tennis," he added.
Jannik Sinner likely to be in action next at Madrid Open
Following his exit from the Monte-Carlo Masters, Jannik Sinner is likely to be in action next at the Madrid Open, the season's second Masters 1000 clay event. Sinner will be joined by the likes of Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev at the tournament.
Sinner was absent from Madrid last year, and has generally had a poor record at the competition. His best result so far at the Madrid Open is reaching the third round, which he achieved in 2022.