London, June 27 (IANS) Defending Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner said he is confident his decision to skip a grass-court warm-up tournament will not hinder his title defence, insisting he and his team have used the past few weeks to prepare as thoroughly as possible ahead of the Championships.
Speaking at his pre-tournament press conference at the All England Club on Saturday, the world No. 1 explained why he believes his different approach leaves him mentally ready for his opening-round clash with Miomir Kecmanovic on Monday.
Unlike previous seasons, Sinner has arrived in London without any competitive matches on grass, but the Italian believes that this has allowed him to focus solely on his preparations.
“I feel good. I think grass is a very different surface. You come here trying to do your best. At the same time, if you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not going the way you would like to, and you come here with some doubts. If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go and play,” Sinner told reporters.
“Last year, I lost in the second round in Halle. I came here, and I played very well. Every year is different. I try to have as much confidence as possible in my shots and in my abilities. First rounds, they’re always going to be very tough. I know that mentally. We are preparing in the best possible way,” he added.
Sinner’s decision comes after a clay-court season that featured ATP Masters 1000 appearances in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome before ending with an unexpected second-round exit at Roland Garros. Looking back at that period, the 24-year-old said the focus since then has been on gradual improvements rather than sweeping changes.
“You can’t simulate 100 per cent what you feel in a match because of the tension-wise everything going around before and after the match. We made some changes. I don’t say big, big changes. But I always believe in small details and small changes. We are happy at the moment with what we are doing. The result we’re not going to see here. It’s a long process. There’s no magic behind it. We are doing as much as we can. I’m very happy with the work we did in the last two and a half weeks. Very long days. I feel well-prepared,” he said.
Sinner opens Centre Court on Monday seeking to become the first man since Novak Djokovic to successfully defend the Wimbledon title. The Italian, who owns a 20-4 career record at the All England Club, is chasing his fifth Grand Slam trophy and has been drawn in the same half as Djokovic.
–IANS
vi/bsk/