Sinner acknowledges his mini crisis: "I'm in a small slump"

Jose Morón | 20 Feb 2026 | 02.15

Streaming ATP Rio de Janeiro live tennis

🎾 Tomas Martin Etcheverry vs Jaime Faria

Sign up with Bet365 here
Make your first deposit of at least €5
Go to the “Live” section and watch every match

Watch the match on Bet365

Few expected to see Jannik Sinner losing to Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals of the ATP Doha, and some are already talking about a minor crisis within his tennis. With great champions, everything is magnified after a couple of bad results, but the Italian remains calm despite this current rough patch.

Following his elimination in Doha against Mensik, Jannik Sinner serenely analyzed a defeat marked by details and a challenging start in the third set. The Italian acknowledged the high level of his opponent's serve, accepted specific errors at crucial moments, and admitted to not being entirely clear in certain decisions, although he made it clear that he is not worried about this minor setback at the moment.

Already looking ahead to Indian Wells, Sinner emphasized, in words collected by Ubitennis, the importance of the upcoming weeks of work, both physically and in terms of tennis, reaffirming his confidence in returning soon to his best level.

About his loss to Mensik

In the first set, he served very well, hitting almost 90% of first serves in. It was difficult to return, and in the third, I suffered a tough break. I made a couple of extra errors, but it can happen: I'm a bit upset about how I managed some moments, although it's something that can occur. Indian Wells will be the next commitment, and we will focus on that after a couple of days off. We have two weeks to work, also on a physical level.

Maybe I made two or three wrong decisions, wasn't entirely clear, but it happens. I started poorly in the third set, which perhaps was the key moment. There I made some mistakes. I faced that break and then didn't serve particularly well. Mensik played an excellent tie-break; perhaps I could have played the 4-3 game better, but it's easy to talk after the match. I'm calm right now, I know what I have to do to come back. There are moments I have to go through. This is something all tennis players have experienced. I hope to recover as soon as possible.

Sinner and his ups and downs

Every player faces ups and downs. I've had two incredible years, and now I'm in a minor slump, but it doesn't worry me. I know I can play better tennis, although Jakub played and served very well. We all have ups and downs in our work; I'm not concerned. I try to improve in every tournament I play. I would like to go as far as possible, but going through some tough moments is normal. I've gone through even tougher ones in the past. I know how to come back. I'm very calm; I'm sure the work will pay off, the results will come. Maybe not in IW or Miami, but the work will yield results. It's okay.

His major goal of the year

One of my major goals will be Roland Garros, but that goal is still far off. We've seen that all players have struggled throughout their careers, although I wouldn't call this 'struggling' yet; I've just lost a couple of matches. I also have to remember what I've achieved in the last three years, winning many matches and losing few. The confidence to play good tennis is there. Indian Wells usually gives me a bit of trouble; we'll see how things go there, while I've always played well in Miami. Then, the clay season will start. I'm trying to add a couple of new things. Today, they didn't work as well as I would have liked, but not every day is the same.

About physical condition and nervousness

I didn't suffer from humidity today. I had some trouble after Australia, but now I feel quite good again. We are working on the physical aspect. Now we have two weeks where we can work well and refuel for the upcoming tournaments. I'm trying to find a good balance as I was a bit off in Australia. In this match, I tried to push a bit more, but here too, I have to find the balance. Overall, everything is fine, but I'm not worried.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Sinner reconoce su mini crisis: "Estoy en un pequeño bajón"