LONDON : Jannik Sinner said he is well prepared to cope with the hot conditions expected during the second week of Wimbledon after physical struggles in high temperatures at the season’s previous two Grand Slams.
Temperatures at the All England Club are forecast to climb above 30 degrees Celsius this week following a late-June heatwave in Britain that saw record June highs of around 37C.
The Italian, who comes from the Alpine region of South Tyrol, experienced physical problems in both the Australian Open and French Open this year, suffering cramps in Melbourne before struggling in the Paris heat and losing in the second round at Roland Garros in May.
The four-time Grand Slam champion advanced to the Wimbledon quarter-finals with a 6-3 7-6(0) 6-3 victory over Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki and will next face Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
Asked whether the timing of his next match could affect him in the heat, Sinner said he was unconcerned.
“It seems you know the schedule better than me. I don’t know when they put me on. I’m happy either way. I’m well prepared. We did a good preparation,” Sinner said.
“Whatever happened in the past, it’s gone already. Now we’ll see if we found a solution. If not, we keep working for the next one.
“But in any case, the quarter-final of a Grand Slam, the feelings are different. There’s definitely more tension. At the same time, I’m very happy where I am at the moment. We’ll see how it goes.”
Sinner said maintaining the right mindset would be key as the tournament entered its decisive stages.
“Of course, the stages are getting bigger, more important, as we know,” he said.
“There’s more attention on every detail. We try to prepare for each match as if it’s the most important one and we’ll see.
“I’m trying to control whatever we can, then the rest is trying to solve the problem.”
