No. 1 Jannik Sinner has ramped up training ahead of Wimbledon title defense

LONDON (AP) — Jannik Sinner said he’s changed his physical workload after his French Open meltdown, when he felt ill and dizzy in a second-round loss.

So, he’s taking it a bit easier? Wrong.

“Much longer sessions — both in the gym and on the court,” he said. “We did everything together but without any breaks. … Now we’ll see how I react on the court.”

Sinner spoke Saturday — in English and Italian — at Wimbledon as he prepares to defend his singles title. He opens against Miomir Kecmanovic on Centre Court on Monday, when the temperature is expected to be 25 C (77 F).

With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by a wrist injury, Sinner is the leading favorite — just like he was in Paris — to win at the grass-court major.

Following his early exit at Roland Garros, Sinner did take a week off — and did some testing.

“General tests to see health-wise how I was, to be sure that all is OK with the body, which is. All tests were really good,” he said.

And then it was back to work.

Sinner, who has struggled with heat and cramps in the past, said, “We need to practice in hotter conditions. I feel like everywhere where we play is going to be very hot. Every year is getting warmer and warmer. It is a very important topic.”

At the French Open, Sinner came within one game of concluding his second-round match in straight sets when he led 5-1 in the third. But amid a Paris heat wave, he struggled with dizziness and was beaten by Juan Manuel Cerundolo 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.

There’s no quick fix, he added.

“We are happy at the moment with what we are doing. The result we’re not going to see here. It’s a long process. There’s no magic behind it.

“I’m very happy with the work we did in the last two and a half weeks,” Sinner added. “Very long days. I feel well prepared.”

He spoke in Italian about the longer training sessions but added: “I don’t like to talk too much about exactly what we changed, but we changed the physical workload a bit.”

No warmups needed

This week, Sinner said it was always his plan to not do warmup tournaments ahead of Wimbledon.

“If you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts,” he said. “If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go and play.

“Last year I lost second round in Halle. I came here and I played very well,” said Sinner, who beat two-time champion Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

Benefits of being Wimbledon champion

A perk of being a Wimbledon champion is getting an All England Club membership.

“It’s a great honor for me. As I’ve always said, it’s the best tournament we have, the most prestigious, and so having this thing for my whole life is very, very nice,” Sinner said.

He reminded that he’s just 24 years old so probably won’t appreciate the membership until after he retires from playing.

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AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis