Sinner: "Skiing Helped Me a Lot Mentally, Not So Much Balance on Court"

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The story of Jannik Sinner and his intention to find the best possible version of himself as a tennis player is starting to sound repetitive, but he gets asked about it incessantly in every press conference. Today at the Miami Open, after his first victory, it was no different.

It took Jannik Sinner only 70 minutes to defeat Damir Dzhumur in the second round of the 2026 Miami Open, extending his great streak of consecutive wins and sets in Masters 1000 tournaments for another day. The Italian has swiftly dispelled any notion of crisis that some attached to him at the start of the season, but his discourse remains consistent, always focused on work, process, and day-to-day effort. A bit monotonous, yes, but that's the philosophy of a man who understands he can only earn ranking points these months after being sanctioned the previous year. Here are his statements from the press room.

Assessment of the victory against Dzumhur

"This transitional game that I am facing is very important for me; it's an effort I want to undertake because I know it will greatly enhance my tennis. The rest of the consequences depend a lot on the day-to-day effort. Today, for example, things went well; I tried to be aggressive from the start and managed to break a couple of times which helped me win the match. Sometimes things turn out this way, but there are other moments where I also made serious mistakes. The most important thing here was to make the necessary adjustments compared to the time at Indian Wells, so I am very happy leaving the court because I know the early rounds of any tournament are never easy."

Jannik Sinner explains how he studies his opponents

"I always try to watch clips of some of the matches they have played recently, trying to understand how they develop their game and in what areas I could potentially perform better than them. Damir is a very talented player, always has a very good feel for the ball, so I tried to move him around to see how he would respond. He has a lot of talent, that's undeniable, so I am happy with how everything unfolded. It's never easy; I've had little time to adjust to these conditions, so we'll see what comes next."

Ready to change each of his shots

"Not everything is easy to change, but I am someone very determined to bring out the best version of myself as a tennis player, so I am ready to change a couple of things, even those that are already working well for me. I believe that if you try to improve as a player but are not able to do so while competing, you might waste some time, maybe... or maybe not. You can't waste that time because then you end up losing your identity. Fortunately, I have a team behind me, a very honest team that tries to put me in a position to be the best player possible."

24 consecutive sets won in Masters 1000

"Often, scores are misleading and do not reflect how the match went, so I prefer to focus on evolving as a player and putting myself in a position to play as many matches as possible. I always treat each opponent the same way, regardless of their ranking or any other detail; what I aim for is to feel comfortable on the court and bring out my best to compete."

Words for Lilli Tagger, young Austrian player

"I know her very well; she is a very talented player, different from what we usually see on the WTA circuit. She loves playing tennis; it's her passion, which is the main thing a player should have. Knowing her background as an ice hockey player, skiing gave me much more mentally than balance on the court, which is secondary. Mentally, skiing meant the risk of getting hurt, something that does not happen in tennis. In tennis, the worst that can happen is losing the match, it's very different. Now Lilli is in that process of understanding what her playing style is, what's the right one, but she is still very young."

All about accumulating points until Rome

"I am not dwelling in the past; I am very present. Last week was successful for me, so I come here with a smile trying to produce good tennis. I know my situation; I am aware of everything regarding defending points, so whatever comes will be positive. Even if I lose in the first round, it's okay. I try to take it day by day; the process is very important to me, the fact of being a good tennis player. I know the areas I need to work on, even coming off a tournament win, I know there are things I must improve. In any case, everything that happens until Rome will be adding up, it will be positive, so the ranking will be a consequence."

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Sinner: “Esquiar me aportó mucho mentalmente, no tanto el equilibrio en pista”