Jannik Sinner took a gamble ahead of the BNP Paribas Open, arriving in Tennis Paradise a week early, and it paid off with the trophy. After his dramatic two-tiebreaker triumph against Daniil Medvedev, he joined the show live to discuss his title run and the recent history he made with it.
Sinner’s 7-6(6), 7-6(4) win over Medvedev in Sunday’s final made him the youngest man in the Open Era to win all six hard-court ATP Masters 1000 events.
But does he consider hard courts his favorite surface?
“I love to play tennis in general,” he joked as Mark Petchey teased him about his penchant for clay courts. And his love for the game was evident in his thinking in the lead-up.
“I felt like in Doha [where he lost to Jakub Mensik] I wasn’t playing my best tennis, but this can happen,” he said. “It’s normal to not always play at your top. I wanted to go back to Monaco, but the weather was very bad, so I said, ‘You know what? Let’s come here very early to prepare for this tournament.’
“It was one of the tournaments I never won, so I wanted to come here very early, trying to be focused on the process.”
Here’s what else Sinner had to say while in the spotlight of a live audience—on the mic, rather than on the court:
Why a mindset and mentality shift has been key: Sinner didn’t lose a set in six matches in his title run. But a change in mindset when things aren’t going well proved equally-responsible for his rise to the top, he said.
“A couple of years ago … coming here, I was like, ‘I don’t feel well,’ but now, the mindset is different,” he said. “I try to move my game around however I feel and making less problems. Being more relaxed. At the end of this day, this is a mental sport, and I try to stay very calm. Also today, in the important moments. This helps me.
“Now, whatever comes, it’s only a positive. I’m extremely happy with how we are working, and I do believe that if we keep working hard and we keep pushing, the results will come eventually, and if not, we tried our best.”
He goes inside the anatomy of a comeback: Sinner knew was an ultra-aggressive Medvedev was bringing to the table after catching bits of the former world No. 1’s win over Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals.
The game plan was simple, he said, even if the execution proved more difficult due to internal and externals pressures.
“I tried to go for shots even though in the beginning I was missing a little bit,” Sinner, who was 4-0 down in the second-set tiebreaker, said. “He was playing more aggressive than I was, so I tried to move him around a little bit on the forehand. … If you give him space, he’s very good with opening the court, so I tried to play tactically in the right way.
“At times, I managed to do well. At times, I could’ve gone for a little bit more towards the net, but there was also a little bit of tension. I knew what I was playing for today. It’s a huge achievement for me and from my side, and I’m very happy.”
He cares about the court, not the course: Sinner said one of the keys to his Indian Wells victory was that he was able to disconnect from the tennis court with friends leading into the tournament through playing Playstation and hitting the greens.
But prodded by Vandeweghe for his handicap, Sinner joked that his competitive nature doesn’t extend to that arena.
“We don’t talk about handicap,” he joked. “I like to go around with a little bit of music … I don’t care about how I play, in golf at least!”
For more from Sinner, listen to the full show at TheBigT.com, or on your favorite streaming platforms.