NITTO ATP FINALS

November 16, 2021

Jannik Sinner

Pala Alpitour, Torino

Press Conference

J. SINNER/H. Hurkacz

6-2, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions in English.

Q. I want to ask when did you find out that you would be able to play?

JANNIK SINNER: Well, I find out around 5:00 p.m. today. Obviously it was first supposed to be at 2:00 p.m., and then they moved it to 9:00, so he had a little bit more time to prepare and to see if he can play or not.

I was ready. I was waiting. I didn't knew at what time he will decide, so, yeah, so I came here, I warm up around 7:00.

Yeah, I have to say I felt well today on court. I tried to play my best tennis, which I did in the moment. Yeah, I'm very happy about my performance today.

Q. Massive moment for you tonight in front of the home fans. You have played five tour-level finals this year and won four of them. How much do you think that experience over the season helped you cope with the pressure tonight?

JANNIK SINNER: Of course it was pressure in one way. In other way disappointment for Matteo. I tried to play my best what I had today in that moment. I have to say the courts are quite similar to Milan, the NextGen. I won there couple of years ago, and now here they are quite fast. I feel well on these courts. Of course the atmosphere is amazing playing here, cheering for me and for Italy.

We try. I think playing in Italy is special because you stick together, you want to win together, and I had this feeling today. When the whole stadium is playing against one guy, it's not easy. So, yeah, a lot of credit to the crowd. Yeah, I'm very happy.

Q. With round robin it's sometimes tricky, because your fate is not always in your own hands. You're in a situation where you have to win but also Sascha has to lose for you to advance. Can you talk a little bit about what's your mentality and psychology is going to be like to kind of handle the situation?

JANNIK SINNER: To be honest, I just try to stay focused about my next match and trying to play great tennis. That's my first goal, because if you want to win against Daniil, you have to play your best tennis. He's No. 2 in the world. He won a Grand Slam this year and a lot of tournaments, as well. So it's going to be a tough challenge.

I mean, at the moment I'm just happy about today's match. It's after tomorrow, the next one. Tomorrow I go on court to practice, and then we see what's coming.

But of course you want to go in the semifinal. I mean, you are here trying to do your best, but in other way, they are the best eight players in the world and with me nine now in this season.

So everyone is tough to beat here, and, yeah, let's see. Let's see what's coming.

Q. I believe you're now guaranteed to finish the year in the top 10. What's that mean to you at this age?

JANNIK SINNER: It means a lot. It was one of my goals at some point of the season, because I really thought that I can do it.

Now of course I was lucky here, but in the other way, I played a great season. I mean, I won four titles, making finals in a 1000 event, couple of semifinals in 500. I played a great season.

In the other way, you always want to improve. You always want to go further. This is my main goal, you know, trying to grow up as a person, as a player, and, yeah, and hopefully next year is going to be a different year so I can learn many, many things, and let's see.