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World No. 1 Jannik Sinner described his successful Wimbledon title defence as one of the most meaningful achievements of his career, saying the triumph came after months of hard work following his disappointment at the French Open, according to ATP website.
Speaking during the post-match press conference after defeating Alexander Zverev in the men's singles final, Sinner said every Grand Slam carries its own significance. "I think every Grand Slam is different. Different story, different environment, different feelings before the tournament. For me this one means a lot because it was a tough one after Paris again. Last year was also tough," Sinner said, as quoted by ATP website. The Italian said he and his team had put in extensive work to prepare for the grass-court major. "We put in a lot of workdays in Monaco, very, very long. Definitely sacrificing a lot of my time and everything to be in this position. Having this achievement, it means a lot to me. It was an amazing day today," he added. Sinner also praised runner-up Alexander Zverev, saying the German's continued improvement pushes him to raise his own standards. "Big, big respect to Sascha, because he's doing something amazing. His game is growing and growing. At the same time, that's exactly what's good, because you have always someone who is pushing you to the limit," he said. The World No. 1 also spoke about the strength of the men's game, expressing hope that rival Carlos Alcaraz returns to action while highlighting the continued presence of Novak Djokovic and the emergence of younger players. "We hope that Carlos is coming back, as well, because tennis needs him. Having Novak still around, having all the young players coming, it's really, really nice. At the same time, you always need to work hard and have moments like this," Sinner said, as quoted by ATP website. Sinner crucially faced just one break point across the four sets of Sunday's final, delivering a stunning serving performance similar to the one he produced against seven-time champion Djokovic in the semi-finals. He was later asked about how he kept such focus on serve for the duration of the three-hour, 46-minute encounter. "It's just staying in the moment, to be honest," Sinner said. "If you lose serve once, the set is over, most likely, especially playing against Sascha. Against the best players in the world, you need to be very careful on your own service games. I have improved throughout the whole tournament. If you see the performance from the first two, three matches, then how I ended the tournament, it has been always growing." "That's exactly what I needed. I was looking for this improvement, a player improvement, from my side. We made it happen. Of course, mentally you need to make the switch, as well, to be able to do so. But I'm very happy how I handled the situation, especially this year. Now it's time to enjoy," Sinner added. (ANI)
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