Jannik Sinner admits to ‘sleepless nights' after French Open loss to Carlos Alcaraz, and says he played table tennis with friends to recover
'Often,' said Sinner in German, when asked if he had 'mourned' the three championship points against Alcaraz.
'I had already a few sleepless nights, but I think every day it gets better. My family stand behind me, and my friends. That is the most important thing for me. Tennis is important in my life but nevertheless are family and friends more important. Nonetheless I think often about the match,' Sinner said in German, in his pre-tournament press conference at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle. 'It happens. I don't know how it will look in the future. I think that is it is not the most important thing, but I nevertheless try to forget the negative things and see what I can do here [in Halle].
He talked about playing table tennis to get his mind away from the defeat. 'I spent a few days with friends and family having fun doing simple things, like playing ping pong. For me it is important to find the time and the way to experience a bit of normality, I am lucky to be surrounded by people who care about me and love me very much'.
He is the defending champion at Halle, a grass court ATP-500 tournament. 'I think that for me to play another tournament is positive, because every match is a new beginning, and I must be mentally ready to give my all on the court. Therefore, it is great I can be here in Halle … It always depends on how you manage to react and get out of it and also on what you want or don't want to see I can focus on the missed match points or a match where I was mentally on the ball for five and a half hours'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Thomas Mller Jokes He's Missing Manuel Neuer As Vancouver Adventure Begins
Thomas Muller has a lot to adapt to with the Vancouver Whitecaps after 25 years at Bayern Munich. First up, flying without an old friend. Aboard the plane taking him to Canada and Major League Soccer, Müller joked it was the first time in 15 years he'd flown without Manuel Neuer, the goalkeeper who's been his longtime teammate for Bayern and the German national team. 'I'm on my flight to Vancouver. I'm looking for the GOAT. Can you help me? I cannot find him anywhere,' Müller said in a video on Instagram. 'It's my first flight without Manuel Neuer since maybe 15 years, I don't know. I'm very excited to come to Vancouver to play for the Whitecaps. Fingers crossed for my first games. See you there.' The 35-year-old forward admitted to feeling 'a little bit nervous' in comments to German broadcaster Sky Sport. 'It's the first time in a very long time that I'm joining a new team.' Müller joined Bayern's academy as a 10-year-old in 2000 and had spent his entire career with the German champion, winning a record 13 Bundesliga titles, two Champions Leagues and the World Cup with Germany in 2014. At Vancouver International Airport, fans cheered as waved flags as Müller walked through sliding doors after clearing customs. He then joined fans at an airport restaurant to watch the Whitecaps face Canadian Premier League club Forge FC in the first leg of the Canadian Championship semifinals. Müller's last game for Bayern was a quarterfinal loss to Paris Saint-Germain at the Club World Cup in Atlanta, after a months-long farewell from the club. Bayern announced in April it wouldn't be extending his contract. Müller said he understood 'even if this did not reflect my personal wishes.' The following weeks saw emotional scenes with teammates, club officials and fans as Müller hit personal milestones — passing his 500th Bundesliga game and 750th game in total for Bayern — and wrapped up yet another German title. Vancouver said last week Müller will join the Whitecaps for the remainder of the season in an open roster spot, with a Designated Player option for 2026.
NDTV
an hour ago
- NDTV
Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka Sail Into Cincinnati Open Quarter-Finals
Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka booked quarter-final berths at the rain-hit ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Wednesday with straight-set wins. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match rain interruption lasting nearly three hours as he advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Adrian Mannarino. He next faces Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-4, 6-3. Sabalenka, taken to three sets in her previous match with Emma Raducanu, defeated Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5, winning a season-leading 50th match of 2025 and reaching her 29th career last-eight at the elite 1000 level. Sabalenka had to work after surrendering a second-set break, but she broke Bouzas Maneiro in the final game to seal the victory. "The key was to focus and put as much pressure as possible on her serve," Sabalenka said. "I was up a break, made a couple of mistakes and she broke me back. "I'm glad to win in straight sets - I didn't want to stay for three hours." World number one Sinner, playing his first tournament since lifting the trophy at Wimbledon, notched his 24th consecutive hardcourt match win to gain his fifth quarter-final of the season. The victory required patience, with the Italian who turns 24 on Saturday passing some of the afternoon weather pause by playing cards with his team. Sinner had won the first set and they were on serve in the second when they returned, but Frenchman's tricky game took a toll as Sinner was broken while trying to serve out the match. The second set instead went to a tiebreak, with the Italian firing his 11th and 12th aces to clinch victory. "He's a very difficult opponent, different from the other payers," Sinner said. "He can read the opponent well. "It was a struggle to close it out, but I'm happy to be in the quarter-finals." Earlier former champion Alexander Zverev polished off a weather-hit third-round victory, winning the final four points of a 6-4, 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima. The entire one-game exercise, with 2021 Cincy winner Zverev leading 6-4, 5-4 when play resumed, took less than two minutes, with the third seed set for a later fourth-round encounter against Toronto finalist Karen Khachanov. Fifth seed Ben Shelton, last week's Toronto winner, reached the fourth round with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, victory over Roberto Bautista Agut in a match rescheduled from Tuesday. Swiatek advances Women's third seed Iga Swiatek and men's seventh seed Holger Rune both booked quarter-final berths before afternoon showers struck. Wimbledon champion Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3, overcoming 33 unforced errors in a 95-minute victory. "I wanted to be more solid than in my last match," Swiatek said. "I'm happy with the level of my focus and the consistency." Rune advanced as 2024 finalist Frances Tiafoe retired with lower back pain with Denmark's Rune up 6-4, 3-1. The match was a re-run of a quarter-final here a year ago, won by the American who went on to fall to Sinner in the final. Tiafoe received treatment on his back but it didn't seem to help as Rune gained control. The American walked dejectedly off court, carrying only a pair of shoes while an official carted away his massive tennis bag. Rune, bothered this season by his own injury worries, secured his 100th career hard-court win and his first defeat of a top 20 opponent since he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Barcelona final in April. In another match interrupted on Tuesday, Magda Linette reached the fourth round at Cincinnati for the first time with a 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-3 upset of fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula.
Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Chennai Grand Masters 2025: Vincent Keymer closes in on title with win
Vincent Keymer (X) Chennai: Vincent Keymer has been an unstoppable force in Chennai and is showing no signs of slowing down. At the end of the seventh round, he remains untouchable, and that flawless run propelled him to the World No. 10 spot in live ratings for the first time. The German youngster (5.5 points) converted his opening advantage into a win against Awonder Liang and stretched his lead to 1.5 points, inching closer to the masters title. A better result than Arjun Erigaisi and Karthikeyan Murali — joint second on the table with four points — on the penultimate day could all but seal the title for him. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! After the win, Keymer said: 'It has been a nice game and the tournament has been really going well for me. I got surprised by the opening and was down for quite a bit, but the game just developed. We reached a rather asymmetrical position which was probably slightly better for me. Then a big mistake from him made me feel it was a game I should win.' A few boards away, Anish Giri is making waves of a different kind. Seven draws in as many games, and the internet troll of 'Drawnish Giri' is doing the rounds again. Speaking after the stalemate with Arjun, who is down with flu, Anish said: 'It's (the troll) probably not entirely unfair because I am, again, making a lot of draws. It's because I'm a very good defender. When I have a bad tournament, I often manage not to lose those bad games. Had I been a worse defender, I'd have lost a couple and nobody would be bullying me... so I'm happy with what I have.' The Dutch GM recalled one event where his defence faltered and the losses piled up. 'At that moment I told myself: 'never again will you be ungrateful and annoyed when you make all the draws'.' Catch Rani Rampal's inspiring story on Game On, Episode 4. Watch Here!
