Day 2 - under the lights: Sinner gets started

The world No.1 is only two weeks into his comeback and is working flat out to get ready for a shot at the title.

 - Alix Ramsay

Jannik Sinner (1) vs Arthur Rinderknech: Monday 26 May, Court Philippe-Chatrier - not before 20:15

The one luxury a professional athlete never has is time. Time to prepare. Time to recover. And in Jannik Sinner’s case, time to get himself back to peak match fitness after three months away from the tour.

He returned to work at the start of the Masters 1000 in Rome and while he did get to the final there – he lost to Carlos Alcaraz – he knows that he is nowhere near his best yet.

“I felt in Rome that we have had some stats from that tournament where some were good; some were not where I want to be," he said. "And that's exactly what I felt on court. So there is a lot of room to improve. Hopefully we are on time to make small changes for here.

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“There are no miracles. I need some time. Matches are different than practice sessions. Best-of-five is going to be a great test for me, trying to understand where I am. Let's see how my body will respond here.”

Surely, then, for Arthur Rinderknech there could not be a better time to face the Italian. Newly married and, as he puts it, “surfing the wave” of happiness he feels at the moment, the world No.75 is hanging onto the memory of his one win over Sinner – in Lyon in 2021 – and hoping for the best. Since then, Rinderknech has faced Sinner twice and failed to win so much as a set.

“Some people say it's better to play him for the first round than the finals,” the Frenchman said. “I would have liked to play him in the finals, but I respect him very well.” 

Expecting to face a partisan crowd on Court Philippe-Chatrier – he has played French players here before – Sinner is taking comfort from his exploits in Rome.

“The goal there was to win couple of matches, and I ended up in the final, which is a huge extra for me,” he said. “Hopefully this can give me then some confidence for here in Paris.”

If only he had a little more time.