jannik sinner crave

“Jannik, you haven't had a lot of days off lately on clay in the Spring, so how did you spend your days since the Rome triumph on Sunday?"

“Yes, I went to my parents' place [for] a couple of days, staying there and arrived yesterday during the day, so [I] tried to recover a bit. [I'm] still trying to recover and hopefully be ready for the first round match.”

“It's obviously been a really intense period for you, for a good reason, but do you feel physically [and] mentally ready for this tournament? And how hard, potentially, do you think it's going to be to find the energy that you will need for the next fortnight?”

“I mean, I hope so, no? It has been a very long but very positive period. I'm lucky to be in this position, you know? I think it's always better to be in a position where you win and you start to feel tired, than feel very good but you lose a couple of rounds. I try to have a good balance now at the practice courts with pushing, understanding also when to push, and then hopefully be ready for the first round matches. “Very happy to be back here, it's a very special tournament since [the] first time I played here. But I think the excitement helps you to find a bit more energy during the tournament.”

“As you've went on this winning streak, have you seen your opponents trying new [and] different things to try to beat you, and do you expect your opponents in this tournament to be trying new ideas to disrupt this great momentum that you have?”

“Everyone is trying to beat [you], but that's also the most normal thing. You need to be ready. Best of 5 matches, they're a bit different. It gives you a little bit more time to understand how to beat a player. Even if you have a wrong start, potentially you can find a way. “I mean, let's see, and I'm very sure I have very, very tough matches in front of me, so I try to focus on myself.”

“Are you limiting your media appearances to 15 minutes today, and if so, can you tell us why?”

“Yes, I think many players are doing that, but it's nothing against journalists or anyone. We are very happy to do the obligations, what we have to do, we are just limiting. Trying to put ourselves also in a position where we also have a small say, and I think it's right to do so. As I said in Rome, we waited 1 year to have a small response. I think here, we are trying to start something now. Again, nothing against you, we are here to do our obligations.”

“Daniil [Medvedev] was just in here before, and he was talking about your ability to attack down the line and make the switch. I'm curious, how do you decide when to make that switch in the middle of a rally? Is it just a feel thing and how long you want to go? What is it that contributes to the decision?”

“I'm a player who plays a lot with my gut feeling and what I feel in this moment. If I feel a shot, I just go for it, I don't second guess. I think it's a very important shot, and it's getting more and more important to go down the line, changing direction first. Depending also against who you play, because then, of course, you have the whole way open on the other side, but it is very important, so I'm someone who, if I feel something, I go for it.”

“Given how much tennis you have played, and it looked at times in Rome like you were feeling it physically; do you think if the event hadn't been in Italy, you might've skipped it or pulled out at some point?”

“Tough to say. I think being in Italy for sure was an extra motivation, and I knew it also was the only Masters event that was missing, [that] was an extra motivation. “In the same time, with these longer events, if you don't play 1 event, it's not 1 week. You are basically 2 weeks out, and that's a very long time if you don't play before Roland Garros the Rome event, then you have 3 weeks off. Depending on when you lose in Madrid, potentially also 4 weeks. You also need to come here with a good amount of matches and having this match feeling, so [it's a] question I cannot answer, but I would say I would still play.”

“What was it like getting back to Philippe-Chatrier for the first time since the final last year - the special match you've had?”

“Special feeling. As I said, it's a very special tournament for me, and it has been increasingly better [for me] year after year. Last year, we were very close, but the feelings and the connection with the crowd was very nice. A lot of kids, which I really like to see. It was very nice. Also, the stairs up, the walk on. Of course, I still have some... I think back [to] what happened, but still very positive feelings.”

“Going back to the 15 minute media thing, if you don't get a response or a reaction from doing this from the tournament, what would the players do next?”