Jannik Sinner has been the man to beat on the ATP Tour this season. The Italian has clinched a Tour-leading three titles in 2024, highlighted by his maiden major crown at the Australian Open and the ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Miami.<\/p>\n
But how does the 22-year-old feel about transitioning to clay? Sinner is set to compete on the surface for the first time this year at this week\u2019s Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is going to be very interesting to see how players deal with the situation to go from hard to clay. It is important to practise in a certain way. The first week is very tough, you usually have strange results. It is going to be interesting to see,\u201d Sinner said in his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday. \u201cThe hard-court swing was really, really good for me, now we see what I can do on clay. Last year I played well here and then after I didn\u2019t play well, so let\u2019s see.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is going to be tough as it is a surface I struggle a little bit. But I am very excited to come back and hopefully do better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinner, who is 22-1 on the season, has won 13 tour-level titles but has only triumphed on clay once: Umag 2022. Last year, the No. 2 player in the PIF ATP Rankings went 8-3 on the surface, with his best result on clay a semi-final showing in Monte-Carlo.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not the surface where I feel that comfortable. I feel more comfortable on hard courts,\u201d Sinner said. \u201cIt does not mean I am not a good player on clay. I played my first Grand Slam quarter-finals on clay at Roland Garros. I made the quarters in Rome. Last year was not my best season on clay, hopefully I can change it this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am confident I can be a good player on clay. It takes time. I used to practise a lot on clay from 14 to 20, but after most of the tournaments go to hard courts, so you play a little bit less. I am very excited to be here. If you have a good friendship with the clay it can help.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sinner will play Sebastian Korda or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in his opening match in the Principality. The second seed is making his fourth appearance in Monte-Carlo, where he holds a 7-3 record.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really like this tournament,\u201d Sinner said. \u201cI live here, so I always come here to practise. Seeing the site in a different way is very special. The crowd is usually very good, lots of Italians. It is going to be an amazing tournament. I love to play here. My expectations are not that high for the beginning of clay. I am happy to be here, it is a special tournament, so hopefully I can perform well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sinner is 22-1 on the season.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76827","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-non-classifiee-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n