Jannik Sinner wants an explanation: day at St. Raphael’s
Jannik Sinner, who has just returned from his mini-vacation with Laila Hasanovic and friends in Sardinia, went to San Raffaele in Milan on Monday for long-scheduled examinations. The world number one after the defeat against Juan Manuel Cerundolo at Roland Garros had announced that he would undergo some examinations to understand exactly what happened during the abnormal match with the Argentine, when he physically collapsed one game away from victory.
The Azzurro was initially scheduled to go to the JMedical, then instead decided to change his schedule and take a break for a few days to relax and recharge his batteries to recover from the defeat, a bitter epilogue to four golden months with five Masters 1000 wins. So now the routine examinations to try to give an explanation for what happened, with a view to upcoming engagements, particularly Wimbledon.
Many in the tennis world have spoken out about the physical collapse in Paris. Patrick Mouratoglou said he is one hundred percent convinced that Sinner suffered a heat stroke, pointing out that the Alto Adige player does not want to admit it publicly so as not to reveal a vulnerability to opponents. A view also shared by Mischa Zverev, a former professional tennis player now a coach, who said at the microphones of Eurosport, “No matter how fit or good you are, if your body gives out, there is nothing you can do. You simply feel terrible. I’ve experienced that myself.”
More skeptical about the physical explanation alone, however, is Boris Becker, who in an interview with Corriere della Sera sounded a real alarm bell: “Only he knows the truth but, as an observer, I can’t help but notice that here in Paris it’s not the first time he’s been sick and, perhaps, not the last. With the humid heat, I know the problem: I have light skin like Jannik, we are not people cut out for high temperatures… But at Roland Garros, with Cerundolo, it was not torrid. That’s why the justification of physical defaillance alone doesn’t convince me.” The former German champion added, “Jannik has his mysteries, but it all starts in the head: if you have doubts, you don’t sleep well and then you play badly. Maybe there is something mentally that disturbs him.”
Also causing discussion had been the words of Andre Agassi, who had pointed his finger at the physical management of the Blue: “There is a difference between being fit and being prepared. To see him give up after an hour and forty-five, to see him give up like that … is something that is striking. You can’t say that he doesn’t work hard, or that he’s not in shape. He was one game away from winning, and we all thought he could go on in the tournament without losing a single set.”
