Jannik Sinner’s press conference in Rome does not reveal everything that was hoped for, and above all it gives rise to nine concerns. When asked directly about the nature of the right hip injury which caused the world number 2 to withdraw from the Internationals – certainly not in his best mood – he did not want to answer except in an elusive manner. And making it clear that participation in Roland Garros is also in doubt.
«I don’t want to go into details. At the beginning we thought it was a little serious problem, but with the MRI we saw that something was wrong. I don’t want to say what, but everything is under control. If I don’t recover 100 percent (for now there are 15 days off, ed) I’ll stay longer: I don’t want to throw away three years of my career in the future. Even if it hurts, taking care of your body is more important than everything else.”
From Sinner to Alcaraz, for those who are on the field all year round the risk of injury is very high
Stefano Semeraro
A lot depends on what happens in the next 7, 10 days. «Obviously I expect a period in which I won’t play. Starting next week we will decide the type of work to do. The preparation for Paris will not be optimal, times are tight. We will certainly give our all to get there as best as possible, but it is clear that at Roland Garros I will only play if I am one hundred percent. Getting there without any matches here in Rome is not trivial, but at the moment there are many questions that no one can answer, so there is no point in asking them.”
Jannik summarized the stages of the injury, from Monte Carlo, with the first pain suffered against Kotov, to the retreat in Madrid on the eve of the match against Auger-Aliassime: «Before Madrid I was better. In Madrid there were days when I felt the pain more, others when it was a little better. A bit of a strange situation. With Kotov I had felt it enough, the day before facing Khachanov again I felt a little better, even though I knew something was wrong. The day after the victory over Khachanov, with the first MRI, we saw that something wasn’t 100 percent right, and we made the decision not to play against Aliassime. Back in Monte-Carlo I took other tests, and based on those we made the difficult, not simple decision not to play in Rome, which is the most special tournament of the year for me. You have to accept it, even if it hurts. It happens in sport. After all, I’m turning 23 this year, I hope to be able to play here for another 10 years…”. «Maybe even 15…», Fitp President Binaghi jokingly echoed him.
Jannik has no regrets regarding the management of the injury, even if before answering he gave himself a few seconds to reflect. “I do not know…. I certainly understood that rest is very important, even for the mental part. I think we did all the right things with the team, if I went back I honestly wouldn’t know what to change. However, it is an experience to learn from, for next year perhaps we will have to reflect on whether or not to play in Monte Carlo, where I arrived a little tired after the trip to America.”
Even the question of what the objectives of the season are, at this point, did not have a reassuring answer. In fact, Jannik did not mention either the Slams or the Olympics. «Honestly, the objective was Rome», he said, earning applause. «More generally, playing many matches in front of an Italian audience. Now I hope to be able to do it in Turin: at the moment I’m in good shape, let’s see what happens.” Turin or the ATP Finals, which are played in November: in a good six months. Right answer if dictated by the need not to feel pressure on return times. But asking a few questions about the severity of the injury and recovery times obviously warrants it.
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