Following his win over Denis Shapovalov in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Jannik Sinner spoke about a variety of topics with the media in both Italian and English.
Ubitennis’ Vanni Gibertini and Luca Baldissera are the only Italian journalists on site in Indian Wells, apart from their colleague Dalila Setti from Sky Sport Italy.
LUCA BALDISSERA: Jannik, congratulations, great match. Playing against someone like Shapovalov is never easy: the matches are stop-start, and he doesn’t give you any rhythm. The conditions were also a little different, perhaps more similar to when you arrived here, nice and warm. How did you find it?
JANNIK SINNER: “Yes, there wasn’t much rhythm at one point, but I think I set a good rhythm from the baseline. It was a bit of a so-so start, because being a break down is always different, but I tried to raise my level from the second set onwards and I succeeded, so I can be happy. It was a little warmer, the ball bounced a little more, there was a little less control, but before the tournament week it was quite hot, so we trained pretty well and I think I can be happy.”
Day and evening
VANNI GIBERTINI: I wanted to ask about the climate: how difficult is it really, how long does it take to get used to it? Because here, evenings are completely different; sometimes it’s cold, sometimes it’s warmer. How long does it actually take and how much difference does it make?
JANNIK SINNER: “Everyone has a totally different timing, but I think that between hot and cold, there’s a big difference between day and evening, because playing in the evening is very different from playing during the day. I prefer playing during the day, for example, but against some players it’s better to play in the evening, so it depends a bit on who you’re playing against. When it’s hot, the ball definitely bounces more; in my opinion, it’s the bounce of the ball that’s livelier.”
Service and response
LUCA BALDISSERA: The opening shots: you were very focused, it was clear to see. You scored a lot of direct points with your serve right away, you also made a few mistakes because you took risks early on, but rightly so in my opinion, even with your forehand around the net. Have you been working on this too, trying to shorten the rallies in certain conditions? Because it obviously pays off here.
JANNIK SINNER: “Not specifically: I think we worked a lot on intensity in general, on keeping it high for a long time. I’m trying to be a little more aggressive and there may be a few more mistakes, but at key moments it’s also important to be solid enough, because today at a certain point I was solid and I scored points that way. So I’m trying to find a good balance.”
“What don’t I like about tennis? Press conferences!”
Jannik, you must really love life on tour to keep doing it and enjoy most aspects of it, but I was wondering if there’s anything about being a professional tennis player that you really don’t like?
JANNIK SINNER: “Don’t like?”
Yes.
JANNIK SINNER: “Yes, press conferences (smiles), always answering the same questions. I mean, it’s not that I don’t like it. It’s just part of the job. I like to go out, play, and then live.
But I think we have a wonderful life. We get to see so many amazing places. Obviously, doing the same things every year, you always go to the same places, so you already know which places you like a little more and which you like a little less.
Our life is very nice and also very safe, in a way, having wonderful people around us. I’m in a very fortunate position, which allows me to travel with lots of people. I have a couple of friends here, and that helps me a lot.
So there’s really nothing I don’t like. I think it’s more everything around it, like what I’m doing here, the media: I’m not the kind of person who likes that. I don’t want to and I don’t need to show off.
Does the attention not really fit with your personality?
JANNIK SINNER: “Yes, more or less. I love playing tennis, and I like spending time with the people I love and sharing good times with the team. That’s just how I am.”
“Sometimes I shorten the routine.”
Can I ask you about the shot clock? How do you feel about it? Obviously, they changed it a couple of years ago. I know Carlos had some issues with it. How do you feel about it?
JANNIK SINNER: “After long rallies or depending on where you finish the point, sometimes you just have to hurry up a bit.
But that’s the rule. It’s the same for everyone. At the moment, there are situations where you exceed the shot clock by a couple of seconds, which is sometimes normal, but yes, you try to stay within 25 seconds.
I have my own rhythm or routine before serving, but sometimes I don’t follow it because I would go over. Unfortunately, that’s the way it is.”
Would you change anything?
JANNIK SINNER: “That’s not my decision to make.”
EDITORS’ NOTE: This article was originally written in Italian and has been translated into English.
