Jannik Sinner has commenced his much-awaited French Open campaign with a dominant victory, continuing his momentum after sweeping all three ATP Masters 1000 events on clay this season. However, the spotlight quickly shifted from his clinical win to an unusual question about his remarkable winning streak, which sparked criticism from the tennis community.
Jannik Sinner Dismisses a Bizarre ‘Psyche’ Question at the French Open
Chasing the Career Grand Slam at the French Open, Sinner made a commanding start to his campaign with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 win over Clément Tabur. In doing so, the Italian extended his impressive winning streak to 30 matches.
During his post-match press conference, the world No. 1 was asked about his psyche, with the reporter questioning whether he had dreamed about his extraordinary run coming to an end.
“Psyche is an unpredictable thing of course. Have you had a dream in which your golden run is being ended? If you did, what did that look like?” the reporter asked.
Clearly puzzled, Sinner asked for the question to be repeated before dismissing the notion entirely, making it clear that such thoughts had never crossed his mind.
“I didn’t dream. No. I don’t know. Yes, I didn’t dream. Sorry,” he responded.
The exchange drew attention within the tennis community for its absurdity. One fan suggested that questions like these were exactly why Sinner didn’t enjoy dealing with the press, while another criticized the “annoying” inquiry.
“This is why he hates the press. what is this question,” one fan commented.
“Perfect answer to a really annoying question,” said another.
At the same time, one fan praised the four-time Grand Slam champion for staying firmly focused on his goals. Meanwhile, another user appreciated how he dodged the reporter’s apparent “jinx.”
“Bless his heart, that Italian boy’s too busy grinding and winning to waste time on silly dreams. Real ones don’t daydream – they deliver!” one fan posted.
“Journos trying to make him jinx himself left and right but he outfoxed all of them,” another fan chimed in.
One fan even argued that Sinner should be exempt from attending press conferences at Roland Garros.
“Petition for Jannik to skip all RG press conferences,” the fan posted.
Moving on from the topic, Sinner opened up about whether he is feeling added pressure at the clay-court Major amid the high expectations and two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz’s absence due to a wrist injury.
“I mean pressure is always going to be there. I do believe everyone has pressure in their work. I think you also have pressure hopefully releasing a good piece of journalism. It’s normal. So, I try to take it in a very natural way. I know what kind of player I am. And then, if you don’t feel the pressure, it means you don’t care. So, I do care a lot on what I’m trying to achieve on a tennis court,” he said.
“And at the same time, I know it’s not that the world is going down if I lose. So, I try to do my best. I’m a competitor. I try to put myself in the best possible position and that’s it,” he added.
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Jannik Sinner will now turn his attention to his second-round clash against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo, who set up a meeting with the world No. 1 after securing a 6-2, 7-6(0), 7-6(7) win over Jacob Fearnley. If Sinner wins, he will face Martín Landaluce or Vít Kopřiva in the third round of the French Open.
