“Between Madrid and the Internationals I will try to recover.” A few words from Jannik Sinner, after having reached another Masters final, were enough to make fans of the Rome tournament fearful of a waiver not currently contemplated.
Today the final against Alexander Zverev offers the world number 1 the opportunity of a record – the five 1000s won in a row – but the real chance of the season is to seize a success at the only Slam that is missing, Roland Garros, where Carlos Alcaraz, winner last year in the final of Sinner’s regrets, will not be there.
Calendar in hand, that of the Italian tennis player is a real tour de force. He has been playing continuously for over a month and a half, and the first round of the men’s draw at the Foro Italico is Wednesday 6th. With the ‘bye’ as the number one seed, there will be even more days to recover. Of course, however, forces must be preserved above all for Paris; the week between the final in Rome and the start of the French Slam (between 17 and 25 May) appears to be a sufficient buffer, at best for Sinner.
“Playing my first final in Madrid means a lot to me – the words of Sinner, after beating the Frenchman Fils in two sets in the semi-final – Whatever the result in the final, it has already been a great tournament.” At the center of the discussions is now the dosage of energy. “I have played a lot in the last month and a half, always getting very far ahead in the tournaments. It is a positive sign, but it is normal to feel a little more tired he admitted -. I try to recover above all with sleep: last night I slept very well and I felt fresh. When you play important matches, however, the adrenaline helps you a lot. Between here and Rome I will try to recover as much as possible.”
The final in Madrid presents the challenge again to Zverev, with whom Sinner has a 9-4 advantage in direct comparisons: in particular he has won the last eight matches, three of which in 2026 in the semi-finals of Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo. «There have been many difficult matches, many tough battles between us – the words of Zverev, after reaching the final by beating the Belgian Blockx – I can’t wait to play against Jannik again. Tennis seems very easy to him at the moment, the way he is playing. But maybe this time I’ll make things a little more difficult for him.”