Jannik Sinner's game with the body
With his withdrawal before the quarter-finals against Lorenzo Musetti at the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona, Jannik Sinner 's sixth match in just over a year is in line, in which the South Tyrolean was unable or only partially able to compete.
by Dietmar Kaspar
last edit:
Apr 22, 2023, 08:04 am
With great anticipation, the spectators in Barcelona awaited the new edition of the "Italian affair" at the first quarter-final meeting of the day on the Pista Rafa Nadal. At the Masters tournament in Monte Carlo, 21-year-old Jannik Sinner met his compatriot Lorenzo Musetti in the quarter-finals, after he had defeated none other than industry leader Novak Djokovic in a hard-fought three-set match in the previous round. With 6: 2, 6: 2 the game in the Principality went smoothly to the South Tyrolean.
Cancellation indicated
Just under an hour before the match was scheduled, the organizers announced the withdrawal of the current No. 8 in the world rankings on social media. However, the cancellation was not entirely surprising. At the press conference after his round of 16 success against the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, that he was able to win despite cramps, Sinner addressed the high number of matches that he had after successfully performing with two semifinals and a final in the last three Masters tournaments stuck in the bones.
Injury preseason
If his first cancellation of the tournament in Rotterdam last year was due to a Covid 19 infection, the Sunshine double in the USA was canceled due to illness in Indian Wells before the round of 16 against Nick Kyrgios and an injury-related resignation in Miami because of blisters on his foot in the quarterfinals against Francisco Cerundolo. After he was able to clench his teeth to the end at the Masters tournament in Rome despite hip problems, it was a knee injury in Roland Garros that forced him to resign against Andrey Rublev in the round of 16 when the sets were tied. In autumn he twisted in the deciding set in the match against Holger Rune in Sofia and had to take a four-week break from the tournament after the resignation. The 7-time title holder on the ATP tour also had to remove the Davis Cup final tournament in Malaga from the calendar due to a finger injury sustained in Paris Bercy.
Prudent planning
Sinner made his first cancellation of the current season at the tournament in Marseille, where he would have met the young Frenchman Arthur Fils at the start, after a feverish illness and, like today's cancellation in Barcelona, can be classified as a precautionary measure. He commented at the press conference after the match against Nishioka: "After what happened last year, I know my body. I know where the limits are. I don't want to hurt myself again. I'm not in pain and that's the most important thing." It is to be hoped that the Italian will be able to get back to full physical strength at the Masters tournament in Madrid next week.