Jannik Sinner On The Olympic Final & His Return To The Tour | Montreal 2024 Preview Interview

Well, Yannick, first of all, welcome to Montreal. It must have been such a huge disappointment to not compete in the Olympics. How do you feel now after the illness that you've had? Yeah, I know. Health-wise, I feel much, much better. Obviously, the body still has to get used to it a little bit, to the practice sessions. But, you know, I'm happy to be here. I mean, it's a special place. Everything started, you know, for me a little bit one year ago, starting from the semis in Wimbledon. So it's nice to come back to Canada, obviously saying no to the Olympics, you know, which was my, I would say, the main goal throughout the season. I said it already in the beginning of the year. But, you know, you have to accept it in one way and just restart from here. Yeah, missing the Olympics, it did mean that you arrived in Canada really early, I think at the end of July already. What were you able to do with your time? How have you been able to use your time? No, for sure. I mean, I arrived here very, very early. First of all, for the jet lag. And secondly, I wanted to make the last step to get back healthy here so I can restart to play tennis here instead of, you know, changing surface again. So, you know, I'm here for a little while. So I'm adapting myself and my game to the surface a little bit more. So hopefully I can show some good tennis throughout the week. But, you know, the last match I played was in London, which is a little while ago. So the first match is going to be very tough. You mentioned yourself, it all kind of started here. What are your memories thinking back to this time last year? It was in Toronto, of course, and winning the tournament. No, it was for sure the most special moment for my career until that point. And it was something very, very positive because, you know, I always watch for my process and everything. So, you know, sometimes you need this kind of results to be also sure that the process is going in the right direction. And from that point on, I played very consistent tennis, which brought me to the position where I am right now. But, you know, the work has just started because, you know, there are always players who push you to do better. And, you know, this is, I think, a very, very, very good thing for myself and also for the sport. We've seen you play some super aggressive tennis this year back on the hard courts, where I think you love to be. But as you said, you haven't played since Wimbledon. How difficult, in a way, is it going to be to hit the ground running and play the kind of tennis you want to play? Yeah, it's difficult. No, I'm not expecting myself to play lights out tennis, not the first match. So it's going to be a very, very tough day on the court. But, you know, I just try to have this positive mindset and mentality, hopefully to go through all the difficult situations which I'm going to have. And yeah, that's it. No, not very high expectations about my level. So, yeah, hopefully I can find it throughout the week. If, yeah, fingers crossed, I will have a chance to. And even at World No. 1, as you are, how much do your coaches help you with that? What kind of role do Darren and Simone play in helping you determine the kind of style you want to play? It's very important to give me the confidence back. When you don't play for a little while, you need someone who gives you the right details. And I think it's all about small details that makes you a little better player. So, you know, I'm very glad that Darren and Simone helped me in that. And yeah, I'm just looking forward again to compete again. I miss the competition, so I'm very happy to be here. And yeah, hopefully, as I said, showing some good tennis and being happy on the court. And hopefully reach a Monday final, which is a bit different. Or is it just business as usual for you? No, it's for sure. It's a little bit different. But in the other way, you don't even realise, you know, when you're in the tournament, you just go day by day. And, you know, today I have a match. Hopefully tomorrow I have one more. And, you know, you go like this on Monday. It's a little bit different, but it would be nice to stand on court Monday. A lot of people have been talking about the gold medal match yesterday in Novak. I'm just curious if you watched it, if you thought of anything in particular about the level of tennis, the tactics, if anything caught your attention? Yeah, of course, I watched a little bit because in the beginning I was practicing. So when I came back, I watched the whole second set. And yeah, it was a very high level match. I think everyone agrees with that. It was a very physical match. And, you know, when two best players in the world, they face each other at the moment, they are producing something very special. So it was a pleasure to watch this kind of match. And I think every one of us really enjoyed it. You know, this kind of level we don't see every day. So yeah, it was an amazing match. Hi, Yannick, heading into the tournament, there was a lot of questions about how many players would actually show up because of the Olympics being just before. I was just wondering what you had in mind. Had you been able to participate in the Olympics? How did you view the transition between the two tournaments? And were you planning to be here all along? No, for sure. It's a question of how well you play there and how far you go. Obviously, if you play for a medal from the last two days of the tournament, there is a very high percentage that I won't be here to play, you know, because the body needs a certain time to recover and also to adapt to a new surface, which, you know, the last time we played on hardcourt was in Miami. So it's a while ago and, you know, you need to get used to it. So if that would have been the case, maybe I also would not be here. But, you know, there is still a very high draw in this competition here this week. So it's going to be a very interesting week. Hello, I also have one related to the Olympics. What have you thought about the reaction of Novak Djokovic when he won? You know, it was really emotional. Do you think he would have reacted the same way? Do you understand that the feeling he had? No, of course, I understand. But I think he understands it more than than anyone else. No, he he tried so hard to get this medal, which, you know, is was the last thing he really need to accomplish. And he knew this in his mind. And, you know, he was he was close a couple of times, making bronze, you know, for a couple of times. And, you know, this year was was his year. And yeah, it was just a very nice scene also to see, you know, how much this means to him. And also the reaction of Carlos after this is the same reaction in the opposite way. You know, you know, we we work for for this kind of things and then success. So obviously, Novak, he has many, many more years of expectations also. And, you know, it's it's it's very nice to see. Yannick, speaking about you, how excited are you to actually be back playing? You know, missing missing weeks, frustration. How's it? How's it feeling starting off again? No, it feels great. I mean, I arrived here quite early. Firstly, to to get rid of the jet lag. And then secondly, to to recover here. The last part of my of my my thing, what I had. And for sure, the first couple of days, there were very slow days with not a lot of practice is trying to get the body used to it again. And now I'm practicing a little bit harder again. And yeah, I feel the body quite, quite well or honestly, really good. And and ready to compete again. For sure, it's a little while ago since the last tennis match I played because Wimbledon. And so let's see. I mean, it's very exciting to be here and hopefully I can show some some content.