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As the Italian tennis sensation and current world number one Jannik Sinner returns to defend his Wimbledon title, the defending champion says, despite not having featured in many grass events over the last year, he feels well-prepared for defending his crown.
Sinner, who defeated 24-time Grand Slam champion and Serbian icon Novak Djokovic for the title last year, is entering the prestigious grass court event without having played any match at the surface beforehand, but the 24-year-old still remarks that "he feels good". "I feel good," Sinner said in his pre-tournament press conference on Saturday as quoted by ATP's official website. "I think grass is a very different surface. You come here trying to do your best. At the same time, if you play a tournament before here, maybe it is not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts. If you do not play any tournament, you do not have these doubts, you just go and play," he added. Sinner reflected on how he suffered a second-round exit in Halle before Wimbledon last year, but still went on to lift the title and tries to be as confident as possible. "Last year I lost in the second round in Halle. I came here, and I played very well. Every year is different. I try to have as much confidence as possible in my shots and in my abilities. First rounds, they're always going to be very tough. I know that mentally. We are preparing in the best possible way," he said. Sinner completed heavily on clay surfaces leading upto the tournament, with competitions in Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome, which concluded with him completing a Career Golden Masters, winning all nine active ATP Masters 1000 events at least once. But his French Open campaign faced a sad ending, with a second-round loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo, where he struggled physically in testing conditions. Reflecting on the period, Sinner said, "You cannot simulate 100 per cent what you feel in a match because of the tension-wise everything going around before and after match. We did some changes. I do not say big, big changes. But I always believe in small details and small changes." "We are happy at the moment with what we are doing. The result we are not going to see here. It is a long process. There's no magic behind. We are doing as much as we can. I am very happy with the work we did in the last two and a half weeks. Very long days. I feel well-prepared," he signed off. Sinner will start off the campaign against Miomir Kecmanovic, opening play on Centre Court on Monday as per tradition. He arrives to the tournament with a win-loss record of 20-4. (ANI)
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