Sinner has not played a match in almost a month after realising his hip injury was more of an issue than he initially thought. The 22-year-old beat Karen Khachanov in Madrid the day after he was first seen stretching and taking painkillers but he later withdrew from the tournament and has been sidelined ever since.
There were reports that he would skip the French Open but Sinner explained that he committed to playing after receiving test results for the injury, confirming that the hip was no longer a problem. “Yeah, I mean, I’m not concerned anymore about my hip. The last tests we made, they were very positive. That’s why I’m here. I said I come only here if the hip, it’s in a good shape,” he said.
“I want to be part of a Grand Slam if my body allows it. We decided after the last tests we made, they were very positive so we were working very hard every day trying to get back in shape. And that’s it, really. I mean, we have been working very hard.”
Although his body is no longer a concern, Sinner is well aware that he is undercooked coming into the tournament. He continued: “The general physical shape is not perfect. I didn’t play tennis nearly three weeks, which is quite a lot, no, before a Grand Slam. But look, I just try to play day by day, no?
“This is a little bit different approach of a tournament than it used to be, you know, because hopefully getting through to the first round can help me a little bit, finding my rhythm. Most importantly it’s going to be the mental side, no, of being mentally ready, accepting things what could happen on the court, and then we see what I can do.”
Sinner’s opening match against Christopher Eubanks will take place 27 days after his last outing on a court, when he beat Khachanov in Madrid. And the Australian Open champion has barely played since then.
“When I came here was the first time that I played points again, so I played points now three days, the last three days. It’s not a lot, but in the other way, I’m confident that every day is getting better and better. Then we see,” he added.
Sinner has also had some support from the locker room, as Alcaraz reached out once he heard that his rival had also been forced to miss the Masters 1000 in Rome. “When I saw bad news about his injury, I wrote him just to wish him a speedy recovery and hopefully see him here,” the Spaniard said.
“That I think it’s great for everyone having the best players in the world in the tournaments, seeing them around. So, I mean, I just wish him all the best during these tough moments, during his whole year, and hopefully share great moments in the future.”
