Jannik Sinner dealt with considerable physical issues in his match against Daniil Medvedev at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, but he didn't retire, and he explained why after the match.
The Italian player entered the match against Medvedev as a favorite, but it proved to be a much more complicated match for him, not only because of his opponent's level. He won the opening set but started to experience physical issues as the match went on, requiring a medical timeout.
At one point, Sinner even went off-court, as advised by the physio, but ultimately, it didn't really change a lot. He continued playing the match despite feeling unwell and actually delivered a stunning performance to nearly win the match.
That would have been an iconic performance, but Medvedev is just too experienced and proved a little bit too strong in the end. After the match, Sinner explained why he didn't retire despite being advised to do so.
"No… I was also surprised I pushed the match longer. Because I retired a lot two years ago. I don’t want to retire if it’s only a bit of illness or I’m sick or whatever. I was still in shape to play somehow. The 5th set I felt a bit better again. The energy level was a bit up. But the energy level wasn’t consistent."
"This isn’t easy to handle these situations on court. But it happened. I was never thinking about retiring. For sure the crowd helped me a lot and tried to push me. You don’t want to retire in the QF of a Grand Slam."
The experience is certainly a positive one for Sinner, who proved to himself that he can push through some issues, even though it will always depend on the situation. He wasn't able to win, but he came close, so now he'll know how to approach any similar situation that might arise in the future.
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