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Jannik Sinner reacted on Wednesday after 20-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer accused tournament organisers of changing court speeds to ensure the final between Carlos Alcaraz and the Italian. The two stars of the new generation of men’s tennis have shared all the last eight Slam titles and have faced each other in the previous three major finals.
Federer’s comment came during an appearance on Served with Andy Roddick, where he discussed modern tennis courts. The 44-year-old explained that on a slow court, a weaker player would have to play extraordinary tennis to beat a better-skilled opponent, compared to a faster court, where lower-ranked players could have the chance of scripting an upset.
“I understand the safety net tournament directors see in making the surface slower,” said Federer. “For the weaker player, he has to hit extra amazing shots to beat Sinner.
“Whereas if it’s quick, he can only maybe blast a few at the right time and he gets past. That’s why tournament directors (like) having Sinner and Alcaraz in the finals, it kind of works for the game.”
Sinner was asked about Federer’s comment ahead of the start of his campaign in the China Open, and he had his say on the debate.
“The hard courts, they are at times very similar,” he said. “At times, there are some small changes, a couple of changes. One tournament that comes up a bit is Indian Wells because the ball bounces very high
“It’s a bit different how the ball reacts with the court, but yeah, if not, we have more or less similar game situations on the court. This is how it has been for a long time, like this. I don’t know if there is going to be a change or not.
“I’m just a player who tries to adapt myself in the best possible way. I feel like I’m doing a good job in this, but let’s see what the future can give us in every tournament.”
Sinner lost to Alcaraz in the US Open final, which also saw him lose the No. 1 ranking spot. The Italian will look to bounce back in Beijing, where he will face for Grand Slam winner Marin Cilic in his opener on Thursday.
“We are working on new things, we are changing a lot of small things that I’m thinking of now,” said the Italian. “The amount of mistakes at the moment is for sure a little bit higher, but I hope that this recovers in a very positive way.
“It’s just a question of time. Let’s see how long I take it. I don’t know how much I’m able to do it on the actual match court because one thing is practice and one thing is a match. It’s great to work on something new, then we’ll see how this ends up.”
