ATP Tour

Sinner downplays physical concerns following Rome SF win

Jannik Sinner downplayed any physical concerns after his semi-final win over Daniil Medvedev on Saturday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings defeated Medvedev 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in a match that began on Friday but was suspended overnight due to rain.

“I struggled a bit to sleep this night,” Sinner said in his post-match press conference. “It has been a situation I haven't been in yet, where you need to finish when you're nearly over with the match. You sleep, you don't know what's coming out the next day.

“I think it's normal that not every day we feel 100 per cent. I tried to play with the best possible energy I have. Yesterday brought me to a point where I was up today. Today I'm very happy that I finished it.”

Following his two-hour, 37-minute win, Sinner moved to within one win of becoming the second player, alongside Novak Djokovic, to complete the set of winning all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.

Sinner would become the first Italian champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976 by winning the title on Sunday. The 24-year-old said he was pleased with how he closed out the match ahead of another expected battle against Casper Ruud.

“I knew before the match it could be very physical,” said Sinner, who was bending over between points against Medvedev. “First set I played really well, then the conditions became very, very heavy. It was tough to get through. But in the same time I tried to understand what's working best. I tried to play with the best energy possible. Yesterday was very tough.”

“Today everything can happen because you start again from zero basically. Obviously the position where I've been in was much better with [a] break up. When we played today [it] was sunny, so different conditions. I'm happy that I got over the line.”