Yesterday the last round of 32 of the Madrid 2024 Masters 1000 took place, with the men’s singles draw therefore aligned with the round of 16. Among the most awaited big names are Jannik Sinner and Rafael Nadal, albeit with some physical reservations in view of the following matches. This and much more was discussed in today’s episode TennisMania Special Madrid Openbroadcast hosted by Dario Puppo (journalist and commentator for Eurosport) and visible on the OA Sport Youtube channel, with guest Guido Monaco (Eurosport technical commentator).
“I don’t think Jannik was that surprised by the difficulty of the match. This was the first time against Kotov and we know that when Sinner faces new players there is always some more reservations and doubts when approaching the match. These three lost rounds of service were strange, especially the two consecutive ones at the start of the match. It wasn’t normal, but it still didn’t cause much concern“, Puppo’s comment on the Italian’s victory against the Russian Pavel Kotov.
“However, when Kotov felt more comfortable on the pitch he took away the time from the blue. Jannik doesn’t like playing on clay in the evenings. The hip problem dragged him from Monte Carlo. The cramps he had against Tsitsipas are a different thing, but even at the beginning of that match he had highlighted some discomfort in his hip while making movements and stretching“, continues the Eurosport journalist.
On the South Tyrolean’s physical condition and hip problem: “Now he is still setting himself up, it is the second tournament on clay and the conditions are very different between day and evening, but when he is physically well on clay too he will go to the net more often. Yesterday I saw him several times not having his supports well, also thanks to Kotov who took away his time. Sinner didn’t expect the Russian to be able to extend some rallies so much, so he was a bit surprised especially in the second set.”
“I saw him move not well. She explained that the origin of the hip problem is that, after the Miami victory, she worked hard with the work done in the gym and there were some small problems. After complaining about the hip problem she took a pill, perhaps a supplement from a bottle, but it wasn’t clear. Certainly, as happened in Monte Carlo, he took salts and a supplement fearing the issue of cramps would arise again“, he adds.
On the general situation of the Italian movement behind Sinner: “The start of the season for Italian tennis behind Sinner was positive with the various results of Darderi, Berrettini, Nardi and the Bolelli-Vavassori doubles, as well as the women’s sector with Paolini in singles and also in doubles with Errani. However, since Roland Garros 2023, an Italian has not made more progress than Jannik in a tournament. There Sinner stopped in the second round, while three did better than him. I also connect this discussion to the fact of derbies. It would be desirable if there was a little more battle with Jannik. Now there are important events such as the Challengers in Cagliari and Turin also with a view to Olympic qualification, but Sinner is now the Italian player who goes furthest in all the tournaments in which he participates“.
