The day after withdrawal from the Masters 1000 in Madridwhere he was supposed to face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals, Jannik Sinner has already started the Rome operation. The red from San Candido wants to be the protagonist in the “home tournament”, the “almost Slam” of the capital: he knows how important his presence is for the whole movement and what a further boost to the growth of tennis his eventual success would give. Precisely for this reason, the input was clear from the beginning, ever since – after the knockout in the Monte Carlo semi-final with Stefanos Tsitsipas – Jannik had indicated the short-term priorities: Rome, in fact. And of course Paris.
Sinner, training camp in Madrid to be at the top at the Internationals
Madrid was supposed to be a good training session: and it was. The plans were to play two or three good matches: they were respected. After the clear victory over his friend Sonego, Sinner struggled a bit against Kotov and lost a set to Khachanov. In both circumstances he finished great, but a red thorn ignited – the pain in his hip – which led him not to push. In consultation with his staff, he decided that the best thing was to stop, precisely so as not to compromise the tournaments he cares about most: the Internationals and Roland Garros. In both cases he will try to get to the end. Six matches in Rome, seven in Paris.
Rest, physiotherapy and training: Jannik prepares for Rome
The sensations, at least from what filters through, are positive. The pain in the right hip is not particularly intense and the program developed by his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, is aimed at getting him back to the top in a few days. Sinner will be rested until Saturday, then the flight to Rome and the first training sessions at the Foro Italico scheduled for the beginning of next week. In the middleor a lot of physiotherapy and the usual checks to make sure there is nothing wrong. The good news is that his debut in the Roman tournament will not take place before Friday 10th. At the latest, Saturday 11th May. In short, there is plenty of time to work in the gym and in the massage room.
ATP Ranking: Sinner just over a thousand points behind Djokovic
Meanwhile work is also being done to oust Novak Djokovic from the number 1 position in the ATP rankings. At the moment there is a 1130 point gap between Jannik and Nole, a gap that will shorten by another little on the eve of the Internationals due to last year’s results: Sinner stopped in the round of 16 (ko in the third set against Cerundolo), Djokovic in the quarterfinals (surpassed by Rune). In any case the Serbian will maintain more than a thousand points ahead of the Italian, so any overtaking will not come on the red clay courts of the Foro Italico. However, it could only be postponed for a few weeks, at Roland Garros. Jannik works to achieve this.
