"They Tell Me I'm Mentally Strong. I'd Say: Not Yet."

"They tell me I'm mentally strong. I'd say: not yet."

From the latest Sky Sport hour long interview with Jannik (Jannik oltre il tennis: Sinner un anno dopo)

- talks about how it always feels special to play Carlos, how he feels a different energy when playing him and how it feels different to see his name in the draw

- talks about how fortunate he feels to be a tennis player, and puts his job into perspective ("not like a doctor who can't make mistakes during an operation")

- talks about how it's probably not possible to be "happy" on court but how he strives to be cheerful/joyful

- analyses how competitiveness is something you have inside yourself and describes how it manifested itself when he was a child (he is 22, how in god's name is he so self aware?)

- gets asked about critics, e.g. people saying "he's never going to be as good as Alcaraz" and how he feels about it, says criticism is a positive thing because it shows he's at a level where people are interested in what he does, and it's usually something that will make him go "I'll show you" but that he also tries not to put too much stock in it because he knows best how hard he works ("and of course I'm a bit happier when people compliment me instead" *cute little grin*)

- when asked about it says the match point against Carlos at last year's US Open was very painful and it took a few nights to get over it and that during this year's US Open loss the cramps he had must have been a mental issue "a bit like what happened to Carlos with Nole at Roland Garros"

- playing in Italy is the most beautiful thing for him "because I feel at home"

- tennis is an individual sport but you have your team and when you practice, you practice WITH the other player, you have to in order for practice to work, so there is a certain team aspect there as well, it's only when you are on court for the match that you're truly alone

- "the best feeling for a tennis player is when you feel that it's a beautiful match and that you're part of a beautiful match"

- "respect is the most important thing in sport and I respect a player whether he's the No.1 or the No. 2000, because respect isn't based on ranking or strength"

- when asked about maturity levels and how grown up he feels he talks about leaving the dishes in the sink for three days, which is just about the sweetest most relatable thing he could have said (I don't have a dishwasher either, Jan and I still leave the dishes in the sink, don't beat yourself up about it)

There was lots and lots more in there, go watch it if you can! [And disclaimer that I don't speak a word of Italian and my Italian comprehension stems from hearing it a lot at work and speaking related languages, if I've made an egregious translation error please correct me!]

The interview is here (VPN set to Italy needed if outside of Italy)

And I also recommend watching the first interview done a year ago, also on YT (Jannik oltre il tennis: Sinner si racconta)