Jannik Sinner addresses fitness concerns ahead of Italian Open

Is Jannik Sinner injured? Why is he not playing the Italian Open in Rome?

It’s a quick turnaround between tournaments, and there are already some concerns over whether he’ll be fit enough to play a full schedule.

Sinner has never won his home tournament, and after coming up short against Holger Rune in last year’s quarter-final, will be keen to make amends this time around. But will his body allow him to do so?

Sitting down with the media following his win over Casper Ruud, Sinner was asked about how confident he felt about staying healthy during the Italian Open.

Sinner admits busy schedule ahead of Rome

Jannik Sinner says he’s feeling the effects of a packed schedule but is trying to focus on recovery as the Italian Open approaches.

“Well, Rome is then different again, you know. For me, I’m trying to recover very much in the night sleep,” said Sinner.

“This night has been a very good sleep for me, a lot of hours, and felt quite fresh this morning.

“But yeah, look, I’ve played a lot in the last one and a half months, going very deep in tournaments.

“It’s a good sign and at the same time you tend to get a little bit more tired.”

Sinner has already gone deep into several tournaments this year and looked at home on hard courts earlier in 2024 too. With Carlos Alcaraz out injured after re-aggravating his forearm issue during his Madrid Open quarter-final win over Andrey Rublev on Friday evening, there are questions over whether he should skip Rome altogether and focus solely on Roland Garros.

The opportunity to add another Grand Slam title could outweigh any other achievement right now. While Masters 1000 titles carry prestige as well as financial reward through ranking points and prize money — few would argue that skipping another major title wouldn’t be worth it.

Still, Sinner knows how close he is to something historic. He’s won four straight Masters 1000 titles already — Indian Wells 2024 — Monte-Carlo 2024 – Miami Open 2024 – Toronto Open (August 2023) – Paris Masters (November 2023) – plus both the Australian Open and Rotterdam earlier this year where he defeated Alex de Minaur in February.

But with Sinner still unbeaten against top-10 opposition this season (15-0), his consistency means every match he plays increases expectations about what else can happen between now and summer with all roads leading towards another Olympic Games in Paris later this year as well where clay form could prove crucial once again.

Can Zverev halt Sinner’s Madrid momentum?

In recent meetings, Sinner has had the upper hand, winning their last eight encounters.

It’s worth mentioning that they haven’t faced each other in Madrid before this final.

Zverev is a two-time winner in Madrid, and the conditions tend to suit his game well. The altitude and court speed play to his strengths.

Sinner hasn’t always found success here. Before this year, he hadn’t made it past the quarter-finals.

If Zverev is going to break his losing streak against Sinner, this could be the best opportunity he’ll get for a while. The final takes place on Sunday, May 3rd.

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