"I hope not to see him before Rome": Jannik Sinner should avoid Madrid Open after injury scare says Paolo Bertolucci

Paolo Bertolucci urged Jannik Sinner not to compete until the Rome Open following his injury in the semifinals of the Monte-Carlo Masters against Stefanos Tsitsipas. The young star suffered his second defeat of the season in a match that seemed practically won, after world No. 2 was one point away from being double break up in the third set.

However, a glaring error by the line judge, when Tsitsipas' serve was called a double fault and would have given Sinner a second break in the set, changed the outcome of the match. The Italian experienced discomfort in his knee in the latter part of the match and had to call the physiotherapist before finishing the duel, which ended in victory for the Greek with a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-4.

The Italian tennis legend and commentator Paolo Bertolucci discussed the level displayed by his compatriot on Sky Sport Italia: "The match was very good, played by two tennis players who for long stretches played at a very high level," Bertolucci said.

The 1976 Davis Cup champion acknowledged that Sinner's physical difficulties and the chair umpire's error were crucial in the outcome of the match: "A match certainly affected by the physical problem suffered by Sinner, leading by a break and with the possibility of going 4-1 in the third. Unfortunately, the referee did not see a ball outside the opponent."

"Rarely in tennis is a refereeing error as important as today’s, but this does not take anything away from Tsitsipas. It’s also true that, when he was on the ropes, that call and Sinner’s cramps gave him breath again and Jannik had none left. The last few games were a pain."

According to Bertolucci, the 22-year-old athlete has already demonstrated that he can not only dominate on hardcourts but also adapt to other surfaces. However, he believes it is time for Sinner to take a break before the Italian Open: "Two semi-finals and a victory in the last three Masters 1000s means that Sinner is at the top of the world. Now he will stop and I hope not to see him before Rome," he said.

“It was not an easy task after his performance on cement in Miami, especially because Jannik only had a few days to prepare for it,” Bertolucci added.

“And yet on the court, he managed to solve this equation and above all offered an incredible level of tennis. I don’t understand how in just five days of training on clay after ten months of absence, he managed to perform so well. In particular, he proposed tactics and variations worthy of a very experienced clay specialist. Of course it’s only the first step in a long adventure on clay,” he concluded.