US Open: "I was very predictable," regrets Jannik Sinner
Deprived of a second consecutive title in New York by Carlos Alcaraz, who took over the world number 1 spot from him on Monday, the Italian analyzed his defeat in the final.
What did Carlos Alcaraz do better in New York than in the Wimbledon final, when you beat him in mid-July? Jannik Sinner: He improved. I felt like he did everything cleaner today (Sunday, editor's note). The things I did well in London, he did better today. I feel like he did everything slightly better today, especially on serve, on both sides. I congratulate him; he handled the situation better than me. He raised his level when he needed to. I remain proud of myself, of my season, but he played better than me today.
What could you have done better on your end? I was very predictable. Now it's up to me to decide whether I want to make changes or not. I'm definitely going to work on that, to try to be better prepared for the next match I play against him. During the tournament, I always repeated the same things, I didn't make a single serve-volley combination, I didn't make many drop shots. And then comes the moment when you face Carlos and you have to get out of your comfort zone. So from now on, I'm going to try to make some changes, to be a little more unpredictable, even if it means losing some matches. I think that's what I need to do to become a better tennis player. But on a season scale, my results have been great: two Grand Slam titles, two losses in the final, those are incredible results. Now I'm going to try to finish the year as strong as I can.
Skip the adWhat aspects of your game in particular do you plan to work on? My serve wasn't perfect. I felt like I struggled a lot today, but also during the rest of the tournament. It takes time (to improve, editor's note). The secret is also patience. It's not like I'm going to become a left-hander by the Beijing tournament (September 25-October 1, editor's note). It will take time. I'm going to change a few small things about my serve, small details that can make a big difference. I'm a very solid baseline player, I hit very hard. I'm a good player (laughs). Sometimes you just need to add a little something.
Did the thirty-minute delay in the start of the match bother you? No, it didn't bother me. We were warned well in advance that the match would start at 2:30 p.m. (rather than 2 p.m., editor's note), so we didn't warm up twice.
You're going to lose your world number 1 spot. What does that change for you? It changes things a little. I'm the hunter now. We'll see.
lefigaro
