By Shrivathsa Sridhar
LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) – Jannik Sinner said his successful Wimbledon title defence felt all the more sweet after his surprise early exit from the French Open last month, as he credited the long hours and hard work in the build-up to the grasscourt Grand Slam for his triumph.
The 24-year-old arrived at the All England Club a fortnight ago needing to answer his doubters after a second-round loss to the unheralded Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the blazing heat of the Parisian summer.
He skipped the traditional grasscourt tune-ups, opting instead for intensive training blocks that included sessions on hard courts, and gradually played his way into form before beating Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.
“Every Grand Slam is different. Different story, different environment, different feelings before the tournament,” Sinner told reporters about the emotions he felt after claiming his fifth major title.
“For me, this one means a lot, because it was tough after Paris. Last year was also tough. But coming here, I tried to put myself in the best position to be as competitive as possible.
“We put in a lot of workdays in Monaco, very, very long. Definitely sacrificing a lot of my time and everything to be in this position. Having this achievement, it means a lot to me. Yeah, it was an amazing day today.”
SINNER TRYING TO DO HIS BEST EVERY DAY
Sinner is in the midst of a spectacular run of form having won all five Masters titles contested this season, losing only three matches. However, two of those defeats were at this year’s first two majors, hence his Grand Slam drought stretched back to his triumph at the All England Club 12 months ago.
While he savoured Sunday’s hard-fought win, Sinner said there was no feeling of relief after defeating a determined Zverev 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4 in three hours and 46 minutes on Centre Court.
“Sometimes you have a tournament with a good outcome, and sometimes you just don’t. There is no failure if you don’t win a Grand Slam,” Sinner added.
“Now I have five in my whole life. But it’s five days of so many other days. You just want to enjoy it. Today was a very tough day. If I lose, it’s still a great day.
“I never take things for granted.”
French Open champion Zverev might have lost the fourth Grand Slam title clash of his career but Sinner said the German’s game was improving and that was a great sign for the men’s tour.
“That’s exactly what’s good, because you have always someone who’s pushing you to the limit,” Sinner said.
“We hope that Carlos Alcaraz is coming back (from injury), as well, because tennis needs him. Having Novak Djokovic still around, having all the young players coming, it’s really nice.
“At the same time, you always need to work hard and have moments like this.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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