CITI OPEN

August 8, 2021

Jannik Sinner

Press Conference

J. SINNER/M. McDonald

7-5, 4-6, 7-5

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Warm congratulations on your victory. Can you tell us how much of that victory was a mental achievement and how much was a physical one? What did you have to work hardest at?

JANNIK SINNER: Oh, I think it's tough with mental, because, you know, I had a lot of chances. I couldn't use it, because first he was playing better in the crucial moments. But I tried to work for one more chance and for one more chance and trying to break him like this.

No, it was a little bit of a roller coaster, to be honest, because I started well in the third set. I tried to going a little bit up with the rhythm, trying to play a little bit faster. I broke him like this. And then trying to serve it out I had before two match points, and then after, I was not serving well. He was returning well.

I missed a couple of backhands and, you know, I think we both were there and, you know, trying to stay mentally strong and obviously physically if you're playing nearly three hours. I played doubles as well this week.

So, as I said yesterday, with 19, 20, even if you play really long, you recover fast. So obviously it is physical, but I think most likely it was mental.

Q. Congratulations on your victory. I'm curious again whether it was the ten set points fought off by Mackie in that first set, whether it was seeing that 5-2 lead you built for yourself in Set 3 evaporate, what goes through your head in those moments, and how were you able to compose yourself, get through the finish lines in both Sets 1 and 3?

JANNIK SINNER: No, as I said, when you have a lot of breakpoints, when I'm serving for the set, it's different, you know, because you feel like the moment is very, very important and you've got in your mind, Okay, I have to do it.

But then after you miss and after you say, Come on, let's try for one more time and one more time and one more time, and, you know, that was my mindset today. You know, I felt that I was hitting not the ball like I was hitting it in the rounds before, so I tried to put it in a big fight, which I think today was, because in every single part of the game I think, you know, when you're up always with the score and then you cannot close it out, it's not easy.

But, you know, I tried to stay there. I tried to somehow stay calm and work for my chances. Yeah, I think I just served not that well in the third set. When I had to close it out, I should have played some different kind of serves, you know, maybe body or something, but, you know, after the match it's always easy to talk.

Q. This is now your third title, fourth final in the past year. What does that fact say about your level? Do you believe your level right now is good enough to compete with the best in men's tennis?

JANNIK SINNER: It's a tough question. When you play against the best, you have to go out of court and really have to play your best tennis.

I think there is still much work to do, to be honest. A lot of experience to put in, working hard as we are doing now, and, you know, trying to play important matches, important matches and important moments of a match. Today I think I had a lot of them. I can learn many things about today.

But I think, you know, when the best players are playing their best tennis, they are very, very tough to beat. I don't know. I'm just already focusing about the next week, which is... (audio muted).

Q. Congratulations. With this win, you become the youngest player to win an ATP 500. How significant is that to you, to be the youngest player to win an ATP 500?

JANNIK SINNER: I think, you know, these kind of things, when you see somebody is the youngest or whatever, I don't put much weight on that. You know, there are a lot of players who have done much, much better than me. It's not about, you know, who is the youngest or whatever.

I just want to improve, working hard. I have my team which is always behind me, giving me tips, and, yeah, trying to win matches.

If there you have some good weeks like this, and before this week I didn't have so many great weeks. I lost first rounds for three or four times. So, you know, it's things what a 19- or 20-year-old is doing. You cannot be that consistent at that age when you, like another guy is already 25, 26 and already in the top of the game.

So obviously I'm very, very happy about this tournament and win today, but, you know, I'm not looking if I'm the youngest, whatever, because the road is long. Yeah, the goals and everything, I still have to do everything, to be honest. I mean, okay, I won three titles, but doesn't mean everything. My mindset, I'm already for the next tournament.

Q. This tournament, a lot of young guys in your generation did well. What's it like to see guys your age performing so well at this stage?

JANNIK SINNER: Well, it's nice, I think, to see especially for the tennis world getting new names on it. Everyone is a great, great player, great athletes. Everyone has his own team which I think is very impressive. Everyone is so competitive, and that's very nice, you know. Nobody wants to lose one single point.

It's great to see a lot of Americans, young guys like Nakashima, Brooskby, Korda, they are getting very, very good. Talking about all the rest, you know, Musetti, Alcaraz, everyone. I don't want to miss anybody of them, because I think it's going to be very, very exciting.

Q. Congratulations. This is the one thing I have noticed about you all week, other than your incredible play, was the fact that you're wearing a mask when you're signing autographs, you're wearing a mask in an interview room that doesn't have 50 reporters in it. Tell me about your precautions for the Delta variant and how important these precautions are to you.

JANNIK SINNER: Well, no, obviously I try always to be very careful with everything. At the end of the day, every tournament is a little bit different. Some have bubbles; some not. You have to know what the rules are.

I think for us players, it's better to wear a mask here. I mean, everyone here is negative inside the room. But, you know, everyone is doing it different, doing it with the mask, but, you know, yeah, I think this is a point of view where every player is different, you know.

When you sign balls or whatever, you know, for me it's better to wear a mask. I do some pictures without; I do some with. So I don't know. But, this, I think, safety is very important.