Sinner, after his feat in Indian Wells: "I felt that I was not playing my best tennis, but it is normal not to always be at the maximum"

Jannik Sinner breathes again. After a turbulent start to the year with his defeat against Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open and with Jakub Mensik in Doha, alarms were raised, not only due to the results, but also because of his erratic and unstable game, something that had not been seen in a long time. However, upon arriving at Indian Wells, everything changed. He rediscovered his tennis and his most devastating form to claim his first title in California without dropping a set.

The world number two needed a title in this manner, especially to prevent the sensation of Carlos Alcaraz's reign from spreading further in the collective imagination of the tennis world. So, for now, he halts the hemorrhage that opened in Melbourne and now heads to Miami with the Sunshine Double goal in mind.

But before heading to the East Coast, the one from San Candido stopped by the Tennis Channel studio where he talked about the great and competitive final with Medvedev (7-6(6), 7-6(4)), as well as his tough start to the year and his good performance on hard courts.

Enduring the heat of the Californian desert

"The conditions were very hot today, but I'm very happy. We know each other very well, although the last time we played was quite a while ago. I saw him play against Carlos yesterday, and he was very aggressive, so I knew I had to serve very well and then see what I could do in the return games."

A match on the back foot due to an inspired Medvedev

"In the second set, in the tie-break, I came back from a big disadvantage. I was 4-0 down and then served very well. That helped me get back into the match, and I am extremely happy. I tried to find my shots, although I missed a bit at the beginning. Actually, he was being more aggressive than me, so I tried to move him around with my forehand. If you step back too much and give him space, he is very good at opening up the court."

"I tried to play tactically the right way. Sometimes I got it right; other times maybe I could have been a bit more aggressive and come to the net. There was also some tension. I knew what was at stake today. It's a huge achievement for me and my team. And, as I said, I'm very happy. It's nice to see the team and also the family at home. It's something very special."

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Jannik Sinner and how he turned around a challenging start to the year at Indian Wells

"I felt that I wasn't playing my best tennis. That can happen; it's normal not to be always at your maximum level. Then I wanted to return to Monaco, but the weather was very bad, so I decided to come here earlier than usual and prepare well for this tournament. It's one of the tournaments I had never won, so I wanted to focus a lot on the process."

"Besides, some friends were here, which helped me not think about tennis all the time. We played some golf and some PlayStation at night, and it was good."

The hard court is his habitat

"I am the youngest player to win all these big hard court tournaments. It has all happened very quickly. It also surprises me quite a bit. I know this is my favorite surface, although I actually like playing tennis in general. I changed my mindset a bit a couple of years ago. Before, I came to tournaments like this feeling not quite right. Now I arrive with a different mindset. I try to adapt my game according to how I feel and create fewer problems for myself."

The Italian always wants more

"I am more relaxed, and at the end of the day, tennis is a very mental sport. I tried to stay very calm today in the crucial moments, and that helped me. Now, whatever comes is positive. I am very happy with how we are working. I believe that if we keep working hard and pushing, the results will come. And if not, at least we will know that we did everything possible," confesses a Jannik Sinner who is once again as dominant as in the last two years.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Sinner, tras su hazaña en Indian Wells: "Sentía que no estaba jugando mi mejor tenis, pero es normal no estar siempre al máximo"