During his match against Shelton at Indian Wells, Jannik Sinner demonstrated his mental composure and elegance, refraining from getting agitated during a disagreement with the umpire.
Jannik Sinner is special, even in his protests. This was evident during his round of sixteen match at Indian Wells, which he won against Shelton. The Italian tennis player was cautioned by the umpire for taking too long before serving in the decisive tie-break of the first set. The issue arose from the need to change a ball that, according to Jannik, was different from the others. Despite being convinced of his correctness, Sinner displayed disarming elegance. The chair umpire appeared almost surprised.
Sinner was preparing to serve in the first set’s tie-break, with a score of 2-0. Following his usual routine, he bounced the ball on the ground but then stopped and decided to send it back to the ball kid, asking for another one. The umpire, whom Sinner had previously apologized to with a hand gesture, then called him for a time violation for exceeding the 25 seconds allowed by the rules to serve from the moment the ball is out of play until the start of the next point.
Jannik appeared slightly annoyed by the situation and decided to have the ball kid return the previously rejected ball, bringing it to the umpire for inspection. The reason for his delay in serving was related to the ball, which he claimed had an unusual bounce. Indeed, before stopping, Jannik tried to bounce the ball more forcefully.
When he approached the chair umpire, who was already prepared to “defend” his decision, Sinner immediately interrupted him, explaining that he was not concerned about the “warning”, but just wanted to explain his reasons and emphasize that the ball was not suitable. In essence, he wanted to clarify his position with class and politeness.
The umpire asked him, “Is there something wrong with the ball? Tell me, don’t give it to the ball kid.” Without flinching, Sinner emphasized, “I don’t like how this one bounces; to me, they are different balls.” While the official continued along his line, Sinner calmly highlighted that he was not overly interested in continuing the discussion, but simply wanted to reiterate his perspective on the incident: “It’s all okay, give me the time violation, but it’s not fair.”
Sinner then continued on his way: returning to serve, he delivered an ace to Shelton amidst the audience’s applause, appreciating his conduct. He demonstrated that he did not emotionally succumb to that argument. This detail further confirms the Italian tennis player’s absolute champion mental fortitude.
