Jannik Sinner has announced his withdrawal from Hamburg as he wants to give himself a little more time to recover from an ankle injury before returning to action. Sinner last played at Wimbledon, where he fell in the quarterfinals to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.
Sinner had a two-set lead against Djokovic, but the Serb came from behind to win the match 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. In the fourth set, Sinner slightly sprained his ankle, but was able to continue and finish the match. Now, Sinner’s ankle is still not 100% and the Italian will not make his debut in Hamburg next week.
Furthermore, Sinner revealed that he plans to return to action in Umag, which starts on July 25. “After discussions with my team, we have come to the decision that I will not play in Hamburg. I slightly sprained my ankle when I fell during my quarter-final match and, as a precaution, we decided that it would be best to take a little more time before my next appointment in Umag.
I really wanted to play in Hamburg, which is a city and an event that I really like,” Sinner said in a statement. Sinner was accompanied by his trainer Darren Cahill during last season on grass. After Sinner’s grass season ended, the Italian announced Cahill as a new full-time member of his team.
“Darren is an honest and humble person who wants to help me and my team. Humanly, there is no better person. We work hard every day, we have fun and there is harmony in the whole group. This is the most important thing,” Sinner said of Cahill.
Rafael Nadal has faced Kyrgios a total of nine times in the past, winning six of the clashes.
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While speaking with the BBC, former World No. 1 John McEnroe suggested that at 80%, the 22-time Grand Slam winner might not be ready to face an in-form Kyrgios.
“Rafael Nadal, being the fighter that he always is, decides to play and wins. Was it going to get significantly worse? I don’t know the answer to that. Could he have played? He beat Taylor Fritz at 80%. He was serving at 100mph most of the match.
But Kyrgios is dominating Wimbledon in a lot of ways — his play, some of the goings-on, his history, his talent. Do you really think Rafa wanted to play him at 80%? Something tells me he didn’t want to do that,” McEnroe said.
