Sinner: 'I have no doubts about my body'

Entering Roland Garros, there were questions regarding Jannik Sinner’s hip injury. The Italian made clear Saturday ahead of Wimbledon that there are no such doubts entering the grass-court major.

“After Paris I took some days off and then back to work. I mean, there are no secrets. I feel physically much better than in the beginning of Roland Garros because there I arrived with some doubts,” Sinner said. “Here I have no doubts about my body. We have been working a lot in the last days.

“I'm not concerned about my body shape. I'm just happy to be here and hopefully ready to compete.”

The 22-year-old, the first player from his country to reach No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is the top seed at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time. He carries plenty of confidence into London after claiming his maiden grass-court title at the ATP 500 event in Halle.

“Obviously last week for me was an important week. Last year I played semis here, so in my mind I know that I can play also some good tennis on this surface. Obviously every year is a bit different. In Halle the conditions are different than here,” Sinner said. “I’m just trying to get used to it, building my confidence here on this court. That's it. Thinking about seeding or all the rest, it doesn't make any sense. Everyone wants to win and show their best here.”

There was plenty of chatter when Sinner took to Centre Court for practice with seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic, who underwent knee surgery after Roland Garros.

“We hit only 45 minutes there playing points. It's also tough to understand what level he is,” Sinner said. “But for sure he is one of the greatest to play on this court. So for me [it] was a huge privilege and honour to practise with him.”

Djokovic was part of a documentary on the end of Roger Federer’s career, FEDERER: Twelve Final Days, which was just released. Sinner took note of how Federer, Djokovic and Rafael Nadal pushed each other by competing against one another. Sinner's Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz has become one of the most interesting matchups in the sport.

“At some point Rafa arrived, then Roger was struggling. After he tried to find a way how to beat him, then Novak arrived,” Sinner said. “I think that's something that evolves the player and also increases the level of each of them. They have reached their 100 per cent of everything. This would be also my dream, to arrive at the point at the end of the career where I reached 100 per cent of my physical ability in the tennis and also [the] mental [side].

“I think that was the most impressive thing that they have done.”

Now Sinner is fully focused on Wimbledon, where he will try to claim his second major title after his triumph at the Australian Open earlier in the season. Last year, the Italian reached the semi-finals at SW19.

“Very happy to be back here. It's a very, very special tournament coming up,” Sinner said. “Obviously I'm happy how I played last week. I'm trying to find a good form here on these courts, hopefully being ready for this tournament.”

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