Tennis - US Open 2024 - Jannik Sinner : "I cannot control the players’ reaction"
Son entrée en lice était très attendue après son affaire de dopage. Jannik Sinner s'en est sorti non sans difficulté, pour son premier tour à l'US Open. Opposé au local Mackenzie McDonald, le numéro 1 mondial a pioché pendant un peu plus d'une manche avant de finalement dérouler 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2. Le Transalpin a peut-être été perturbé par sa récente affaire et tout le tollé médiatique qui a suivi. Testé positif en mars puis innocenté, le roi de l'ATP a été vivement critiqué par certains de ses pairs. Finalement, le public a bien accueilli Sinner mardi soir. La réaction des fans était l'une des craintes de l'Italien. Au deuxième tour, Sinner sera testé face à Alex Michelsen. L'occasion de monter en puissance.
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00:00Tough match, obviously. First matches are never easy. I took some time to get into rhythm,
00:09but I'm very happy how I ended the match, which hopefully can give me confidence for
00:15the next match, so I'm glad to be in the second round.
00:18Congratulations. Questions?
00:20The first set you mentioned, you took a little time to get into the rhythm. Was that something
00:34physical you were feeling, or was it just mental, or the stadium, or the tournament?
00:38What do you think it was that caused you to take a little bit of time to get going?
00:43I felt like he was playing some great tennis, not missing any shots, and I struggled a little
00:51bit how to play. We prepared in one way, which he read my game pretty well. It's normal.
01:01The first rounds are never easy, especially in Grand Slams. I think it was a sudden breakdown,
01:09so when I broke him back in the second set, that gave me a little bit of confidence. After
01:16I started to raise my level, he dropped a little bit, and I think that's how it went.
01:26Janek, you spoke the other day about it being a relief for the news about what happened
01:32with you to be out, that it had been a burden for you. What was it like to play today now
01:36that that news is out, and what was the response from fans?
01:41The response from fans, I feel like it has been great. When the news came out in the
01:49practice sessions, there was a lot of support, which I'm very glad and happy about that.
01:56It is still a little bit not easy. You have to go through day by day, so obviously I'm very
02:04happy to be here in the position where I am, and trying to go day by day. Tomorrow I have one day
02:11off, one day of practice session, and hopefully I'm ready then to start the next match in a very
02:19positive way. Let's see if I'm able to do that or not. It's going to be interesting to see.
02:26You spoke before about saying you weren't sure how the whole affair would impact your reputation.
02:35I just wondered what your emotions were and your expectations were as you walked out onto the court?
02:42I'm curious to see how the reaction of the fans has been, but it has been very positive.
02:48I was very glad how the support was, also playing against an American. It's a little
02:55bit different. I'm happy how I handled the situation. It wasn't easy. I think a lot of
03:04positive things from today's day. Let's keep seeing what's coming in the next round.
03:13Howard Fenrich with the Associated Press. You've been asked about the fans. I'm curious about
03:21other players and what you've heard from other players or reactions that have been in the locker
03:27room. There are some reactions. I cannot really control what they think and what they talk.
03:35That's how everything went and how it was. I already talked. I cannot control the player's
03:46reaction. If I have something to say to someone, I go there privately because I'm this kind of
03:54person. Overall, it has been not bad. I'm happy about that.
04:05Sebastian Varela for Clay. I'm wondering if it was a purely physical
04:13motive to pull out from the Olympic Games, the illness, or it was also a mental
04:20struggle for you? Maybe you didn't want the news to come out at that time?
04:27No. I said already in the beginning of the year that for me it was one of the main
04:35goals in the Olympic Games. For me, I missed the first one, so the second one for me would
04:43have been very special, playing also in Paris, which is in Europe, quite close to home.
04:51If I would have had a chance to play physically, not being ill and being able to compete,
04:58I would have been the happiest, I think, in that moment.
05:04Representing Italy for me is always a huge privilege and honour.
05:13It wasn't to be this time and hopefully the next in four years. It's still a long way to go,
05:19but hopefully it's going to be very special.
05:22In the back, last question in English. Sportico.
05:26You are part of the latest match to ever finish here at the US Open. Do you think it's
05:31OK for matches to be finishing that late in the night? Would you change anything about
05:37the process to prevent that from happening? How do you feel about the really late finishes?
05:42I'm just a player. This is an organisation thing. I don't want to talk about this.
05:51Obviously, when you play the second match in the night, which means it's the last match of the
05:59day, it could potentially go quite long. There were many things. We played a lot over four or
06:09five hours. The match before us went three sets that day, so it can happen that it can go very
06:17long. I'm just a player. I'm happy to go on court and try to play some good tennis.