Sinner ‘just staying in the moment’ as he closes in on top ranking

Bengaluru — World No 2 Jannik Sinner can close in on Novak Djokovic at the top of the world rankings by lifting the Madrid Open title but the in-form Italian said he was not putting any extra pressure on himself after a superb start to the season.

With Djokovic skipping the Masters tournament to stay in top shape for the Grand Slams and the Olympic Games, Australian Open champion Sinner would pick up 1,000 points and move to within 330 of the Serb if he wins his fourth trophy of 2024.

“I don’t want to put pressure on myself. I’m living a very positive moment, winning a lot of matches, I just try to keep going like this,” Sinner, who has lost only two of his 27 matches this year, told reporters.

“I know that I can and have to improve if I want to win more. I’m searching for new opportunities and … every tournament I play there can be a good opportunity to show that my level has raised.

“Showing what I’ve improved … that’s for sure something I’d like to do here. This is a new opportunity, new tournament and we’ll see how it goes.”

Defending Madrid champion Carlos Alcaraz said Sinner was the man to beat before the May 26-June 9 French Open Grand Slam.

“He’s dangerous. He’s the best player in the world,” world No 3 Alcaraz said.

“[Some people] think his tennis doesn’t suit well to the clay, but he’s had results on clay as well.

“He can win every tournament he goes to, and I’m fighting with him and Novak to be No 1. I’m trying to stay there, but it’s going to be difficult.”

Daniil Medvedev said the addition of Gilles Simon to his coaching team could help him understand clay better as the world No 4 looks to build confidence on his least favourite surface before the French Open.

Medvedev has won 19 of his 20 titles, including the 2021 US Open, on hard courts, with a grass court crown that same year at the Mallorca Open. He won his lone clay court trophy at the 2023 Rome Masters in the lead-up to Roland Garros.

See improvements

Medvedev, who was runner-up at the Australian Open in January, did not have a great start to the clay court season after losing early in Monte Carlo recently.

However, he said he could see improvements in his game under Simon, who won five tour-level trophies on clay.

“He tries to bring something to my game, which maybe I thought of, but didn’t understand how I should bring it on the court,” Medvedev told reporters at the Madrid Open.

“He explains how I can do it and … it’s important because during the match you don’t have time to think too much. It’s more of a reaction. So I have to be smart to not overthink what he says. Overthink it in practice, maybe, but not during the match.

“I feel like in Monte Carlo, because we talked a lot about playing … I maybe thought too much about ‘OK, next shot, what do I do?’, while I actually had to play more.

“For the moment it’s working great. I’m looking forward to learning more things.”

Medvedev begins his Madrid campaign against Christopher O’Connell or Matteo Arnaldi.

Reuters