Jannik Sinner has labelled his behaviour coming back from injury as “not good” ahead of the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia. The world No.2 is one of six players competing for a hefty prize of £4.5million in the Middle Eastern nation.
Sinner is the defending champion of the exhibition event, which was held for the first time last year. He’s back to try and defend his crown this time around, but the lucrative tournament comes amid a difficult spell for the Italian.
The Italian was forced to withdraw from the recent Shanghai Masters due to fitness concerns, and while he downplayed the severity of the issue, it wasn’t the first time this year he’d suffered from niggles. Now, ahead of the Six Kings Slam, Sinner has opened up about his recent struggles with his well-being.
He explained: “I think it was mostly mental, and mentally, I wasn’t perfect. We talked with my team. My behaviour wasn’t good, so if you combine all that with the humid heat, in the end, it knocked me down and I felt it physically. It was my mistake, but you learn things. I took two days off and then we got back to work. I feel good physically and mentally, we are ready here and for the next tournaments, Vienna, Paris, Turin, and we hope to finish the year in style.”
Sinner has taken steps to limit his schedule, with it being reported he won’t take part in either the Davis Cup or Paris Masters, which are both pencilled in for later this year. As well as the Six Kings Slam, Sinner is also expected to compete at the season-ending ATP Finals in his home nation at the end of November.
However, Sinner’s physical attributes have been questioned by some in the wider tennis world, specifically former Italian tennis star Paolo Bertolucci. He told Sky Italy: “It’s a shame because Sinner had a great chance in this tournament. The boy is a bit frail. Once he had cramps, once his stomach, once his elbow, and then the blisters and his hip.
“In short, it’s starting to feel like a lot of things. He doesn’t have the same physical consistency as Djokovic or Alcaraz; this seems obvious to me by now. It’s not surprising. But we shouldn’t worry too much either. I repeat, in this tragedy, we have the world number two.
“All this in a month and a half. I wonder, is this tour de force really necessary? Was there really a need to go to Beijing? I know the answer: the points, the ranking, the No.1… And who cares about all this? You don’t include it? It’s true that Sinner had a shortened season due to the stupid doping ban, but the underlying issue doesn’t change.”