Jannik Sinner felt sorry for his opponent. © ANSA / FABIO FRUSTACI

“That was obvious”: Sinner sympathizes with his opponent

Jannik Sinner wasn't particularly happy when he reached the round of 1000 of the Masters XNUMX tournament in Rome on Monday. The reason for this was his opponent's injury, which brought an otherwise exciting match to an abrupt end.

13 May 2025

From: leo

22 winners, only 16 unforced errors, a 63 percent first serve percentage – this is a performance to build on. The only thing coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill will have to criticize are the two breaks Sinner conceded at 4-1 in the first set. "The match was nothing like the one against Mariano Navone," Sinner said, referring to the match conditions. "The most important thing is to display the right body language. The level is a consequence of that."

Sinner started well against De Jong, but then had a "major slump." "He started playing better. Luckily, I managed a break at 4-4. That gave me confidence for the rest of the match," the No. 1 said, adding: "We all saw how the second set went. Jesper was injured, that was obvious. He's a great player and person, so I hope the injury isn't too serious. I wish him all the best."

Here Jannik Sinner talks to editor Stefan Peer about his victory against De Jong and the next task on Tuesday:

Now Sinner faces an opponent he knows very well: on Tuesday at 15.30:18 p.m., he faces Francisco Cerundolo. The Argentinian is ranked 6th in the world and defeated Austrian Sebastian Ofner 2-6, 4-2024 in the second round. He has already won three ATP Tour titles in his career – the most recent on clay in 2 in Umag, Croatia. His record against Sinner is 2-6. The last duel was exactly two years ago: Cerundolo won 7-6, 2-6, 2-XNUMX in Rome.

Francisco Cerundolo stands in Sinner's way. © APA/afp / JAVIER SORIANO

"I lost the last match against him on this court and will have to raise my level if I want to compete on equal terms," ​​Sinner explained. Cerundolo is having a very good season and is in excellent form, having recently reached the semifinals of the Masters 1000 tournament. "But these are precisely the challenges, the tests, that I need now. Only then can I understand how high my level truly is."