Jannik Sinner, the Italian prodigy, spoke about his illness after his failure at the Round of 32 of the Mutua Madrid Open on Wednesday, May 05.
The 19-year-old is one of the best players in the world and thus, everyone expected him to win against the World No. 76 Alexei Popyrin. However, Sinner lost to the Aussie with a score of 6 (5)-7 (7), 2-6.
Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts during his second round match against Alexei Popyrin of Australia during day seven of the Mutua Madrid Open at La Caja Magicaon May 05, 2021, in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
However, the Italian was seen coughing throughout the match but the player continued to play. After the match in Madrid, World No. 18 claimed his health conditions were troubling the player but avoid blaming his ‘illness’ for the defeat.
Sinner reported in a post-match interview, “I suffer from allergy and here there is a lot of pollen, I also play with contact lenses. This bothered me a lot.”
“I suffered more because there was more sun and in the court, he entered easily, but I did not lose for this [reason]. He played better than me.” He added.
Time to dust myself off and get back at it 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/cFbiV6CHLp
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) May 6, 2021
However, it seems the defeat boosted the morals of the young Italian star, who claimed, “This defeat helps me to grow, now I go to the court to work to be at the top for the next match. I’ll come back stronger than before.”
Jannik Sinner will return home to Monte Carlo and start working with his coach Riccardo Piatti to improve the Italian’s form for the upcoming tournaments. Further, he might take part in the Roland Garros this year. Meanwhile, Popyrin moved to the next round of the 1000 circuit in Madrid, where Alexei lost to the ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal.
