World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has revealed that he has had trouble sleeping after he lost the French Open final to Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller.In the fourth set of the match, the Italian had three championship points, but he faltered and Alcaraz recovered to win the gruelling contest. Alcaraz won the match 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) after five hours and 29 minutes — the longest men’s final in Roland Garros history.“I’ve already had a few sleepless nights, but I think every day it gets better. My family stands behind me, and my friends. That is the most important thing for me. Tennis is important in my life, but nonetheless, family and friends are more important. I still think often about the match,” Sinner said in his pre-tournament press conference at the Terra Wortmann Open in Halle.“It happens. I don’t know how it will look in the future. I think it is not the most important thing, but I still try to forget the negative aspects and see what I can do here [in Halle].”
Sinner also said that playing table tennis has helped him keep his mind off the defeat.“I spent a few days with friends and family having fun doing simple things, like playing ping pong. For me, it is important to find the time and the way to experience a bit of normality. I am lucky to be surrounded by people who care about me and love me very much.”Sinner, who opens his Halle title defence against a qualifier on Monday, said:“I think that for me to play another tournament is positive, because every match is a new beginning, and I must be mentally ready to give my all on the court. Therefore, it is great that I can be here in Halle. It always depends on how you manage to react and get out of it, and also on what you want or don’t want to see. I can focus on the missed match points or on a match where I was mentally on the ball for five and a half hours.”
