When Jannik Sinner plays in Monte Carlo: his record with Machac

Jannik Sinner is about to return to the court at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 after an excellent debut on clay against Frenchman Ugo Humbert. The world number two champion from Alto Adige has decided to forfeit the doubles tournament in the Principality, where he was paired with Zizou Bergs, in order to concentrate on the continuation of the singles tournament.

The Azzurro will play against Czech Tomas Machac, who overcame Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in two sets on Wednesday. The match is scheduled for Thursday on Court Ranieri III no earlier than 12:30 p.m., and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports and streamed on NOW.

Sinner has faced Machac on three occasions, in which he has always placed without losing a set. The last previous was less than two months ago: the two played on the concrete in Doha, Sinner winning in just over an hour 6-1, 6-4. The other matches date back to 2024, both on cement, both won in two sets by the Italian (in Shanghai and Miami).

Despite the nice win against Humbert, Sinner still does not feel he is 100 percent on clay and does not hide: “Of course it is not easy the transition from cement to clay, but I think year after year I am gaining more experience and I understand sooner how I have to play. The most important thing though is always the mindset, because you can control that on any surface. I have to control what I can control, and accept the rest: here often the bounces are not perfect, like on grass.”

“We are trying to change the trajectories a little bit, but I have to mostly play the right way, then this week what comes comes, playing an extra match is a bonus. The important thing is to put the right tennis on the court. This year the goal is Paris, I want to get there by making the progress I expect to make, there are still things to improve, for example I need to understand the distance to the ball when I slide.”