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Sinner admits physical struggles ahead of Ruud showdown
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- Sinner admits physical struggles ahead of Ruud showdown
Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP via Getty Images
Jannik Sinner moves past Daniil Medvedev to reach Italian Open final
Jannik Sinner advanced to the Italian Open final after a hard-fought win over Daniil Medvedev, coming through 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 in a semi-final that stretched over two days due to rain.
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Sinner will now face Casper Ruud in the final after the Norwegian defeated Luciano Darderi in straight sets earlier on Saturday.
After the match, Sinner spoke to reporters and gave an update on how he's feeling ahead of Sunday's decider.
Jannik Sinner admits his semi-final was 'very tough' physically ahead of Rome final vs Casper Ruud
Photo by Mark Avellino/Anadolu via Getty Images
"I had to fight very, very hard yesterday," said Sinner.
"I knew before the match it could be very physical.
"First set I played really well, then the conditions became very, very heavy.
"It was tough to get through.
"But at the same time, I tried to understand what's working best. I tried to play with the best energy possible.
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"Yesterday was very tough.
"Today, everything can happen because you start again from zero basically.
"Obviously, the position where I've been in was much better with a break up. When we played today was sunny, so different conditions.
"I'm happy that I got over the line."
Sinner also mentioned that he found it difficult to get a good night's sleep on Friday. "I struggled a bit to sleep this night. It has been a situation I haven't been in yet, where you need to finish when you're nearly over with the match," he said. "You sleep, you don't know what's coming out the next day."
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Laura Robson responds to Flavia Pennetta's Jannik Sinner comments
During Sinner's physical struggles on Friday, former Italian player Flavia Pennetta suggested he might have been experiencing an anxiety attack.
Laura Robson spoke about those remarks during her coverage on Sky Sports.
"I think no matter what it is, whether it was a bit of cramp in this scenario, you can see him digging into the ribs as if it is a bit of a stitch, maybe, but the fact that it's happened before means he doesn't have to panic, he knows he can play through it," she said.
"You don't really want to speculate is it a panic attack, is it not.
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"Obviously there is a lot of anxiety in these big matches, especially when it's your home crowd when you've got all this pressure.
Jannik Sinner has now turned his attention to Sunday's final against Casper Ruud. In the semi-final, Ruud came out on top 7-6 6-3 against Luciano Darderi.
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