Patrick Mouratoglou rubbishes claims of Jannik Sinner faking his struggles in Shanghai

Renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou has squashed rumours that Jannik Sinner faked his hamstring injury in the round of 32 against Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor. The Dutchman led Sinner 6-7(3), 7-5, 3-2 when the No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings had no option but to retire in humid conditions in Shanghai.

The Italian suffered cramps in his right thigh and was seen limping to his chair in pain. Sinner’s physical struggles started late in the second set and he was seen in all kinds of discomfort.

Mouratoglou said Taylor Fritz and Novak Djokovic faced the same issues due to brutal humid conditions in Shanghai. Djokovic threw up twice during his three-set match against Spain’s Jaume Munar.

The French coach said on his Instagram page, “To explain Sinner’s cramps, there is only one word: humidity. Fritz had the same problem, we saw Novak Djokovic throw up two times. It’s not the first time Jannik has cramps. He had cramps against Carlos in Roland-Garros, but this was tension.”

“Until it happens to you, there is no reason to change anything. Once it happened, his team will probably organize differently the next time he’s going to play in such conditions. Probably incredible the drinking also before the match, because during the match, at a certain point you cannot drink more. And this is where Waterdrop for example is important, because when you sweat that much, you’re also losing everything that is in your body, that you need to function. If something is missing, your body can shut down, and that’s what happened.”

Sinner will be seen in action in the Vienna Open if he recovers on time from his injury. The ATP 500 event will kick off on October 20.