How Illness Contributed to Sinner’s Demise at Wimbledon, and Why He’s Still Confident Going Forward

By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday July 9, 2024

Wimbledon was shaping up brilliantly for Jannik Sinner. He entered Tuesday’s quarterfinal clash with Daniil Medvedev carrying a nine-match winning streak on the grass, and he had never lost since rising to World No.1 on June 10th.

But he woke up on the wrong side of the bed on Tuesday, and saw his winning streak go down the drain. Sinner says he felt ill this morning before the match, and things only got worse during the physical four hour and one-minute encounter.

“Already this morning I didn’t feel great,” he said. “Had some problems. Then with the fatigue, it was tough.”

Sinner was quick to credit Medvedev, the man he defeated from two set to love down in this year’s Australian Open.

“Nothing to take away from Daniil. I think he played very smart,” he said. “He played good tennis.”

The 22-year-old Italian told reporters that he struggled mightily to find energy on the court, and felt even worse in the third set, as he had his blood pressure checked on court and went off court with doctors after the third game.

“I went off the court actually. I didn’t want to go off,” he said. “The physio told me better to take some time because he watched me, and I didn’t seem in shape to play. I was struggling physically. It was not an easy moment. I tried to fight with what I had today.”

Sinner started to feel better when he returned to the court, but it wasn’t enough to see him past Medvedev.

“I didn’t vomit, but it took some time because I was dizzy quite a lot,” he said. “Actually off court I had the toughest time maybe. When I went back, I tried my best. Obviously disappointed about the third set. Had couple of set points. Couldn’t use them. Fourth set I raised my level a little bit. In the fifth I had just one poor service game, which decided the match.

“Today the energy level was not consistent. It was up and down. Like this, it’s also not easy to handle the situations on the court.”

Despite the loss, and the fact that he falls to 6-9 lifetime in five-setters, Sinner sees positives in his play and in his performance at Wimbledon.

“Tough one again because I lost in five in Roland Garros, in five here, and five in US Open last year. It’s all part of what it takes to hopefully make the step forward again,” he said. “It still gives me confidence for the next tournaments coming up. Then we see how it goes.

“I mean, it’s a tough one to swallow. But the season is going very positive, a lot of wins, not so many losses. The losses, they are very tight matches. The level is there. That’s the most important. Just watching out for the positives.”