A loss, but another chance to learn

     Jannik Sinner      is processing a difficult loss to Novak Djokovic and, as is always the case, thinking of ways he can improve off of the experience.

The Italian lost to Djokovic 6-4, 6-2 on Wednesday at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, and afterwards he analyzed his performance against the World No.1.

“I think what I missed were maybe one game each set I played a little bit not in the right way, which in the first set was 2-1, in the second set it was 4-2 when he was serving,” he said. “When he went 5-2, I didn’t play well that game. But I think the rest was not a bad match from my side. At some point, especially in the second set, the level was very high.”

Sinner took an early break against Djokovic in the opening set but was unable to make it stand up. He finished with 17 winners to 28 unforced errors, while Djokovic hit 20 winners against 21 unforced.

“I think it’s just always about improving,” he said after the loss.”Obviously playing tournaments like this without crowd is not the same feeling when there were the crowd and all the rest. It’s tough for every player.”

Djokovic himself is impressed with the Sinner package as a whole, and expressed that sentiment today in his post-match press conference.

“For a young player like this, what we normally would see and expect is he got a couple of good weeks here and there, but the consistency is not there until the young player matures,” he said. “With him it’s different. He really has a good mindset. He seems more mature for his age than the rest of the guys with the way he’s playing and training.”

Sinner says that it is the subtle nuances in Djokovic’s game that he can learn from, specifically the way that the Serb defended on the run and the manner in which he handled the most important moments of the match.

“Obviously what I see is that he is defending better than me when he’s coming in the run,” Sinner said. “We have to learn there. We have to serve a little bit better. Everything, you know.

He added: “I think the biggest part where I have to learn, but I knew already, is to understand the right situations in every match, to don’t go too much, don’t go too slow, all the rest. It’s trying to understand the situation. That’s what I’m trying to do. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t work, like today where maybe your opponent is better than you or understands faster than you. That’s the point. He’s doing that. I think I have to learn this part of the game.”