Jannik Sinner praised for finally solving a major issue he’s suffered with now for over a year
Jannik Sinner might have had to wait to confirm his place in the final of the Italian Open, but he’s earned huge praise from Flavia Pennetta for his performance against Daniil Medvedev.
Sinner stormed into a first set lead against the Russian, before his fitness deserted him and he was forced into a major battle to reach the final of the Italian Open.
Medvedev won the second set 7-5 and play was stopped due to heavy rain in the decider with the scoreline at 4-2 in the favour of the World No. 1.
The pair are set to play the remainder of their match on 16th May, just before the women’s final between Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina.
Despite suffering his biggest challenge of the clay court swing so far, 2015 US Open champion Pennetta believes Sinner has now worked out how to deal with his physical issues during matches.
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“It almost seemed like an anxiety or panic attack to me, precisely because Jannik suddenly couldn’t breathe properly. But he managed to recover immediately, control himself, and lower his heart rate, and that struck me,” said the Italian following his semi-final with Medvedev.
Pennetta believes Sinner learned from his previous health issues on court, namely his performance against Holger Rune at the 2025 Australian Open.
“In the Australian Open 2025, it happened for the first time, and he didn’t know how to recognize it. Maybe now he’s able to understand when these moments are happening.”
Sinner still managed to come through that game against Rune, albeit in four sets, but he shared a worrying message about his health after that match.
“I was not feeling really well,” he said in his post-match press conference in Melbourne last year. “I think we saw that today, I was struggling physically.
“Came here as late as possible. I knew that it was going to be very, very difficult today; playing against a tough opponent, but also playing against myself a little bit.”
Sinner overcame his issue to beat Rune and go on to lift the title, after beating Novak Djokovic in the final.
He will be hoping he can do exactly the same against Medvedev, before facing Casper Ruud in the final of the Italian Open at his home Masters event.
If Sinner does win the Italian Open, he will complete the set of all nine Masters events and continue his 100% record at Masters events this season.
Sinner has collected Indian Wells, the Miami Open, the Monte Carlo Masters, and the Madrid Open already in his perfect run at Masters events.
