Jannik Sinner is one of the calmest players on the ATP Tour, but he has now revealed that it's just a mask.
There are different types of tennis players when it comes to showing emotions. Some like to wear them on the sleeve, while others try to hide them. Probably the best example of a player who shows all the emotions is Aryna Sabalenka, who never hides whether she's happy, sad, disappointed, angry, or calm on the tennis court.
On the ATP Tour, Ben Shelton is one of the players who doesn't shy away from big celebrations, and Andrey Rublev is one of those who shows when he's angry, often even hurting himself.
Sinner, on the other hand, is one of the players who rarely shows any emotion, and that applies to both the positive and the negative emotions. The Italian player usually celebrates only with a gentle pump fist, and when he's angry, disappointed, or sad, he rarely shows it.
That's what prompted a question from Alize Cornet after Sinner's most recent match. The World No. 1 player comfortably beat Andrey Rublev 6-1, 6-3, 6-4, without showing any emotions again.
However, the 23-year-old revealed that what's happening inside of him is completely different compared to what he shows. Sinner tries to appear calm because he thinks tennis is a mental sport, and he doesn't want his opponents to know that he's struggling.
"It's absolutely not like that. I have a storm inside me, but tennis is a very mental sport and you try not to show your emotions too much to your opponent. At the beginning of my young career the storm was also outside, not only inside."
Although he doesn't often show emotions on the court, Sinner admitted that he was very happy to reach the quarter-finals in Paris. He also got to play during the night session, testing out the conditions before he might play some crucial matches during the night session.
"I’m very, very happy, because things can go quickly in a bad way, especially in best of five. They can go so long, so I’m very happy to finish in three. Night sessions here in Paris are always amazing, so thank you all for coming."
Sinner also spoke about his adjusted return position. He admitted that his new position gives him more rhythm, and he also feels that it has worked well since he changed it with his team.
"We changed it before this tournament. I felt like I was out of rhythm, so this [position] gives me more rhythm, trying to go more through the ball, especially on the first serves. On the second-serve returns, I try to change it up from the back and go in close. From the back it was working well today."
Up next, Sinner will take on Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals of the French Open. Bublik has been the surprise of the tournament so far, and he will now try to stun the top seed as well.
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