Jannik Sinner highlights a major goal as he makes brutally honest ‘struggle’ admission
Jannik Sinner has identified the French Open as his “main goal” as he looked ahead to the clay-court season following his triumph at the 2024 Miami Open.
The Australian Open champion gave a tough but honest assessment of his previous performances on clay by saying he “usually struggles” on the surface.
Sinner produced a devastating performance to dismantle Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 6-1 in the final of the Miami Open to claim his third title of a stunning 2024 season to date.
The Italian, who won his maiden Grand Slam title at Australian Open in January and won the Rotterdam Open in February, has climbed to a career-high ranking of world No 2 this week.
The 22-year-old will now look to translate his incredible form onto the red clay in Europe — a surface on which he is yet to enjoy the same success as he has on hard courts.
Sinner has claimed 12 hard-court titles, while his only clay-court tournament victory came at the 2022 Croatia Open — a tournament held during the brief clay series following Wimbledon.
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Speaking in his press conference after winning Miami, Sinner was told about Daniil Medvedev’s prediction that he and Carlos Alcaraz will win the most titles on the ATP Tour this season.
“That means a lot, but in the other way, you still have to show. You know, I started the season really, really well. I never thought to start it like this. But it also means that I stay in this moment,” he said.
“You know, whatever happened happened already, and every tournament where you go, you have a new opportunity. That’s how I see it. I have a great team behind me who pushes me. We know what we have to improve.
“Now the clay season is coming, so usually I struggle there. So let’s see what I can do this year. Then we see, no? For sure, I am living a good life now. I mean, I made a lot of matches. I won three tournaments.
“So for me, it means a lot, but in the other way, in three, four days, you have practise again and try to get better. So let’s see.”
The world No 2 then further addressed his goals and expectations heading into the clay season.
“Yeah, first of all, you don’t have so much time to adapt, because Monaco, I guess we start to practise Thursday the first time,” Sinner continued.
“So not even one week to get used to the clay. There are always some strange results usually in Monaco, so let’s see what’s coming this year.
“For sure, the main goal is Roland Garros, yes, but trying to work slowly into this tournament and trying to play it in the best possible way. Before I have Rome, for me, especially is a really, really important tournament. You know, playing with the home crowd, it’s always amazing.
“And that’s it. No, I’m very relaxed. Look, I have the feeling that I have learned many things from last year what I can do better. Physically I’m in a different shape than I was last year — which the clay is a lot physical. Then we’ll see how it goes.”
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