Andy Roddick sends warning to Jannik Sinner, ahead of French Open campaign
Andy Roddick has sent a stark warning to Jannik Sinner, ahead of his French Open campaign, stating that the world No 1 may not get as warm a reception as he did at the Italian Open.
The Parisian Grand Slam will be the Italian’s second professional event since his return to the tour, following a three-month suspension for failing two doping tests in March 2024.
There has been much debate online about whether Sinner’s decision to accept a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) – detailing the three-month suspension – was too strict or too lenient.
Nonetheless, Sinner displayed high-quality tennis in the Italian capital, reaching the showpiece match which he lost to world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
“I’m just telling you as nice as the reception was for Sinner when he had kind of that soft landing in Rome, where he was getting standing ovations by the press when he speaks to the media,” Roddick said, whilst speaking on his ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast.
“It’s like two Frenchmen straight out of the gate, that’s a guarantee and then Arthur Fils, he is going to hear it from the French crowd in Paris for the first week of his this year’s French Open.
“He is going to deal with some things coming off of this suspension. It doesn’t seem to bother him. He seems like he’s able to compartmentalize, but you hear it, you just do. He deals with it better than most, but it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.”
As the American states, Sinner may have to play a Frenchman in three of his first four matches at the French Open.
The three-time Grand Slam champion opens against Arthur Rinderknech, before playing either Richard Gasquet or Terence Atmane in the second round.
Should Sinner make it to the fourth round, there is a strong likelihood that he would face Arthur Fils.
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Ahead of his return at the Rome Masters, the world No 1 admitted to feeling ‘fragile’, and acknowledged the extra attention on him – as a result of the suspension.
“After we took this decision (to accept the settlement), it took me a while to find myself again,” stated the three-time Grand Slam champion.
“But I am still here. There is still a bit of time to digest all this, but I can’t wait to be back in Rome.
“It’s a special tournament for me, even though it will also very tough. I’ll be back in a moment in which there will be already a lot of attention on me, and in Rome it’s not easy.
“I was very fragile after what happened. I would tell a lie if I said I was person without feelings or emotions. In life you learn, every year I learn more about myself, also about my value.
“It was not easy, very hard at times, but the people around me gave me the strength to understand what had happened.”
