Sinner ready for Wimbledon defense despite lack of time on grass

LONDON: Jannik Sinner insists he is ready to defend his Wimbledon title despite going into the tournament with a lack of action on grass courts.
Sinner hasn’t played since suffering a shock defeat against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round of the French Open in May.
The world number one blew a two-set lead as he wilted in stifling heat on the clay courts of Roland Garros.
Instead of maximizing his time on grass ahead of Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, the Italian has opted to rest before stepping up his practice schedule after arriving in London.
It is the first time he has stayed away from the Wimbledon warm-up events prior to playing in the grass-court Grand Slam.
“I feel good. I think grass is very different surface obviously. If you play a tournament before here, maybe it’s not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts.

If you don’t play any tournament, you don’t have these doubts, you just go and play,” Sinner told reporters at Wimbledon on Saturday.
Sinner opens his bid for a second successive Wimbledon crown against Serbian world number 51 Miomir Kecmanovic on Center Court on Monday.
“First rounds, they’re always going to be very tough. I know that mentally. We are preparing ourself in the best possible way,” he said.
Sinner revealed he has made tweaks to his fitness regime to ensure he can cope with the transition to grass in the midst of searing temperatures in England.
“We did some changes.

I don’t say big, big changes. But I always believe in small details and small changes,” he said.
“We are happy at the moment with what we are doing. The result we’re not going to see here.

It’s a long process. There’s no magic behind.
“But yeah, we are doing as much as we can. I’m very happy