World No. 1 Jannik Sinner shared his thoughts following his convincing 6/0, 6/1 victory over Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals of the Rome Masters tournament.
– Perfection doesn`t exist in sports… but how close were you to it tonight?
It`s hard to say. I felt great on the court, and I think everyone saw that. My goal for this tournament is to understand my current level. My game has been improving each day, and I`m very happy about that. The result is secondary. But how I felt today is a very positive sign. Things can change in a day, and one match doesn`t fully reflect my form. But I`m very satisfied. Everything worked well today: serve, return, movement on the court. I`m happy. We`ll see how the semifinal goes.
– When you weren`t attacking, you were turning defense into attack against the Madrid champion. What mindset allows for this kind of play?
Everyone has one or two opponents who are a bit more challenging. Today I tried to repeat what I`ve done against him before, but on a different surface. I was hitting the ball very well. These conditions… playing Casper in the evening, in my opinion, is a bit better because he can`t put as much spin on the ball. Everything went my way today: a few net cord winners, hitting the lines. But any match can quickly turn around. If I had served poorly at 2/1, the score would have been tied – that could have flipped everything. I`m happy I managed the situation.
Note: Jannik Sinner`s performance in this match also saw him match a historical achievement by the `Big Four`.
