Jannik Sinner is gearing up for his return to Grand Slam action after a lengthy spell away from tennis.
It poses a unique challenge for the Italian, who must come into the event with just one tournament’s worth of preparation.
Sinner was banned for three months immediately after he lifted the Australian Open title, and his return to the sport came in his home event just last week.
Shocking many to reach the final of the Italian Open, it was a stellar week for the 23-year-old, who will now have aspirations of going one step further in Paris.
However, he will have to contend with a plethora of fresh fitness issues, which he touched upon in his pre-tournament press conference.
Jannik Sinner mentions fresh injury concerns ahead of Roland Garros
Asked first about how he was feeling following that Italian Open final, and if it had drawn any fresh injury concerns, his answer was not completely reassuring.
After all, his fitness is of paramount importance heading into such a physically gruelling event, and even being off by 1% can prove the difference at the elite level of sport.
He remains optimistic, obviously, but Jannik Sinner was also realistic: ‘It’s going to be different. I felt in Rome that… we’ve had some stats from that tournament where some were good, some were not where I want them to be. The stats were exactly how I felt on court so there is a lot of room to improve.
‘Hopefully we are on time to make small changes for here. There are no miracles. My knee, it needs some time, I need… matches are different to practice sessions.
‘We are working hard trying to reach the physical level on how I would like to feel on court. Of course it pops into the tennis part, where it’s just a little bit different.
‘Best of five is going to be a great test for me for trying to understand where I am. Let’s see how my body will respond.’
Can Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open?
Once again, in the final of the Italian Open, Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner provided fans with some enthralling tennis.
And despite this event marking the latter’s first since returning from his absence from the sport, he had soared into the final with astounding ease before coming up short against his generational rival.
That match marked his fourth straight loss to the Spaniard, leading many to believe that there is a mental block for Sinner that is preventing him from toppling the four-time Grand Slam champion.
However, in Rome, it was quite clear that fatigue played a much greater role in that loss, especially given how tight the first set was.
As he touches on in his interview, best-of-five matches represent a new challenge altogether. But, if he does go all the way and set up a grand finale vs Alcaraz at the French Open, at least he can be confident that his fitness has returned.
After all, if he has made it far enough to face the world number two, he should have the confidence to take it that final step to secure the ultimate silverware.
