Jannik Sinner says he doesn’t want to take anything away from his opponent after struggling with illness during his semi-final match at Wimbledon.
The world No.1 took a medical timeout and was requested by the physio to go off the court. Despite this, the Italian continued to finish his match, which he lost in five sets to Daniil Medvedev. A player who he has beaten five times in a row before today.
“This morning I didn’t feel great. I had some problems,” Sinner explained during his press conference.
“Then with the fatigue, it was tough.
“But nothing to take away from Daniil. I think he played very smart. He played good tennis. That’s it.
“I went off the court actually. I didn’t want to go off. The physio told me better to take some time because he watched me, and I didn’t seem in shape to play. I was struggling physically. It was not an easy moment. I tried to fight with that what I had today.”
Asked if there have been any signs of illness among other players on the Tour, Sinner said he hasn’t encountered any. A bitter pill for him to swallow during what is a strong season where he has already won four ATP titles, including the Australian Open.
“Everyone seems okay.” He said.
“Obviously now you don’t have that much contact with the players. It’s quite empty now, the locker room.
“But everyone seems okay. It was just me that I felt during this night a little bit like this. I couldn’t sleep the hours I wanted to.
“But these things can happen, so just unfortunate.”
The 22-year-old does see a silver lining in his Wimbledon run as he hopes to draw positives for the future. Earlier in the tournament he beat Yannick Hanfmann, former finalist Matteo Berrettini, Miomir Kecmanović and Ben Shelton. He has now won 42 out of 46 matches so far in 2024.
“It still gives me confidence for the next tournaments coming up,” Sinner states.
“It’s a tough one to swallow. But the season is going very positive, a lot of wins, not so many losses. The losses, they are very tight matches.
“The level is there. That’s the most important. Just watching out for the positives.”
The defeat continues Italy’s wait for a male Wimbledon champion. Berrettini is the only player from the country to contest a final which was back in 2021.
