Jannik Sinner on Learning from Alcaraz and Djokovic | Indian Wells 2026

It is an absolute pleasure to be at our BMW Tennis Channel desk with the Wimbledon champ in the building, Yannick Sinner. Yannick, great to see you. Thanks for having me. Yannick, are you comfortable in that chair? It's a little low. I feel like you're at school, like listening up to you. I just told you before, I've never been like this in school. Well, you weren't like this today in the match. You were very much like this, 6-1, 6-1. Great start. In the cold conditions, in the night, the new balls here, first time, Indian Wells, it was to your liking, all the conditions. I feel like every day is very different. Yesterday was very warm. Today was a bit colder, but mostly no wind. Everything changes a little bit, but I'm very happy how I reacted. Obviously, playing against a qualifier is never easy. He played already a couple of matches here. He was in rhythm, great wins, so I'm very happy about today's performance. Obviously, now let's see what's coming. You're obviously a great champion. He's had success at so many different tournaments he's played. Where does Indian Wells fall for you in the love to play at the venue? I definitely missed it. Last year was a tournament, especially Sunshine Double, for me is very important because the last tournament is before clay. I'm very happy to be back here. I see the passion of the crowd. They love to see some great energy on court. Hopefully, I can bring a little bit of show, but at the same time, look, I'm here trying to maximize a little bit my potential. We worked very much in the past one and a half weeks, very long days, two sessions a day. It was very, very physical, so I'm very happy how I'm feeling at the moment, but we practice for moments like this, for moments to step back on court and trying to play some good tennis. I saw the last Instagram video that you posted. Speaking of physical, you're looking pretty jacked out there. You talk, look. No, I'm telling you, you're looking. You're joking now. The kid's looking pretty jacked. Go look at his last Instagram video. Look, you move so well, but is strength something you're working on? What are the main physical things? No, there's not one main. I feel like for us tennis players, it's important to have a great mobility, but being also quite explosive, you have to play for a very long time too. There's a lot of prevention also, so there's not only one part. Getting into the clay court, the upper body has to get a little bit stronger because you might play a little bit above the shoulders, so you have to have more strength in your shoulders, but it's about everything. For me, the most important is to have a good discipline because the discipline gives you a good, good mindset. This is what brought me success in the past, and you obviously try to keep going. I'm in a good mental moment. There are a couple of friends here which support me, but we also have a lot of fun off the court, and this helps me a lot, but obviously I know how much work I've put in, so I'm happy to compete again. When you're playing well, it just seems like you have no weaknesses when you're out there, but I know the great champion you are. You're always trying to improve little things here and there. Is it always just about you, or do you ever have a Carlos or a Novak or some of your great challenges in mind? No, I feel like what I did with the big three also, that I had a chance to sit and practice, and I tried to get small, small details from each of them, and I do the same with Carlos. If I see something that he's doing great, why should I not try it, at least? Or the same still with Novak and everyone. I've seen Sasha playing much more aggressive, for example, and everyone is trying to improve, and if you just stand still, then everyone is catching up. You have to be honest with yourself, too, that you are not the best player in the world. You also have to understand that there is always room to improve, room to do better, and that's exactly what I'm trying to do. Hopefully, I can do that. I want to finish my career saying that I maximized my potential, so let's see what's coming. You had such an amazing year last year. Did you have a good off-season? Did you feel rested coming into 2016? I've had a very, very good off-season. We practiced a lot. I got sick then in Christmas, and then I got sick before going to Australia, but I feel like now I have recovered again. Everything also in Australia felt good. It was just one match with some cramps there, but no, I feel good for me mostly. If mentally I feel good, that's the most important part for me, so I'm looking forward to compete, do what I love, and that's it. I'm looking forward to going back on court, trying to play some good tennis, and that's it. Well, you got as perfect a start as you could possibly want today. You know it's always a pleasure when we have you here at the desk, so thank you for joining us. No, thanks for having me, and have still a great night. I hope it's not too long for you. All right, cheers.