'Sometimes I’m a bit slow to hit the first shot' - Jannik Sinner shares on-court setback after commanding win over Marin Cilic

“I’m thinking a lot, especially with the serve at the moment,” he said. “Sometimes I’m a bit slow to hit the first shot, but I’m hoping that it’s getting as automatic as possible.”

“I always say 90% is trying to keep doing what I’m doing, and 10% is trying to mix it up, thinking a lot at the moment, but again, every player is doing this. I’m happy that I can work on things, I’m happy that I have a great team around me that understands this, so we keep pushing.”

The last time Sinner lost a first-round singles match occurred back in August 2023, over two years ago. This came against Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the Cincinnati Open. He has made 18 finals and won 12 ATP titles since then. When asked this, he said: “I don’t know, it’s a good question, obviously you try to put a lot of concentration, especially in the first round matches, because I know that many things can go wrong. After, you usually find your rhythm, your pace, the speed of the court, much better. I tried to prepare myself in the best possible way. I came here quite early, also, to feel the conditions.”

Losing streak continues for Cilic

On Sky Sports, Naomi Brady shared her opinion after Cilic succumbed to defeat. “Tough one for Cilic, still played so well, but it almost doesn’t matter when you’re playing against Sinner, not in the form he’s found in the last couple of years. Still yet to find a win since his fourth-round run at Wimbledon," she said.

“It was one-way traffic, more winners than unforced errors from the Italian. Far too many unforced errors for Cilic, but you’re just forced into it, trying to find the space past Sinner, trying to somehow put him under pressure.

“Just solid across the board for the serving [for Sinner]. For Cilic, that was where his problems lay, so difficult when you’re not finding your best shot, missing the opportunity to put your opponent under pressure from the get-go. He had ten break point chances, Sinner, took four of them, and that was enough. Just an hour and 21 minutes, he’s through.”

After an impressive Wimbledon run from the 36-year-old, which included defeating Jack Draper on his way to the round-of-16, he has failed to win each of his previous six matches. He was knocked out of Wimbledon by Flavio Cobolli, before leaving the US Open in the first round. Before the defeat against Sinner, he failed to pick up any wins for his country in the Davis Cup, as Croatia lost to France.

Despite this, Broady was still impressed with his tennis. “Absolutely, why not when you’re hitting the ball like that? 36 years young!”