After defending champion Carlos Alcaraz withdrew from Roland Garros due to a wrist injury, a journalist asked World No. 1 Jannik Sinner if he thinks his path to winning his fifth Grand Slam became a lot easier.
Sinner didn’t know what to reply at first. However, he then spoke about how he and the tour will miss Alcaraz, a sign of respect for the Spaniard.
“I don’t know. I think this is not what we should talk about,” Sinner said. “I think the most important thing is to say that, first of all, tennis needs Carlos. Tennis is much better when he’s around, and also for me personally, it’s nice when he’s around. It makes me look at the draw and at individual matches in a different way.”
“Even if I were to face Carlos, it would likely be in the final, being the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. That’s the case. Being young and going through difficult moments can happen. I do believe he’s going to come back stronger than before. But injuries are always tough, especially the wrist. There are certain areas of our body that are very sensitive.”
Fans online slammed the journalist for asking such a question.
“He’s so pure and wonderful person🧡. Shutting their stupid questions,” one fan wrote.
“This is not a question these people should be asking right now. What is wrong with these journalists,” another added.
“These questions are disrespectful both to Carlos and Jannik, but of course he’s answered the best way he could like always… journalism is truly dead though,” one fan wrote.
“This is very sweet of him, I must say. Has shown more empathy than a lot of the media and pundits today,” one fan commented.
“the weird ass questions have started already 😒 this is disrespectful asf on so many levels like for gods sake read the room,” one fan remarked.
“Let’s calm down buddy he’s not going to war 😭🙏🏽” one fan joked.
Jannik Sinner Believes Carlos Alcaraz Made Right Decision to Prioritize Health
Last year, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz contested an epic Roland Garros final. Alcaraz saved multiple championship points, fighting back from two sets down to win in five. Many rate the match among the best in Roland Garros history. However, this year, fans will not get to see the two compete against each other at the biggest clay-court event.
Sinner believes Alcaraz did the right thing by withdrawing from the French Open rather than risk worsening his wrist injury.
“The wrist, as we’ve seen with other players in the past, can complicate things,” Sinner said. “I hope he’s going to come back and not have any further injuries. But I also believe it’s good that he and his team take their time. Because if you come back too early, then maybe you have a bigger problem afterward. We all want him to be competitive when he returns. In this case, that’s the next goal for him, and I hope it is.
Sinner hopes Alcaraz can be healthy for the next Grand Slam.
“It’s Wimbledon, so I hope he’s going to be back there. Whoever is in the draw, it’s always a long way. This is all secondary now. I send him a speedy recovery, even though it’s painful and very sad for all of tennis,” Sinner added.
Jannik Sinner will hope to continue his dominance at the Masters 1000 level in Madrid before focusing on completing the career Grand Slam at Roland Garros.
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