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Andy Roddick has warned Jannik Sinner to expect a hostile crowd at the French Open as he faces two French players in the initial rounds.
Jannik Sinner will begin his tryst for a fourth major title at the French Open (Picture credit: AP)
Former US tennis star Andy Roddick has said that while Jannik Sinner received a lovely reception in Rome during the Italian Open, playing on his home turf, he should expect exactly the opposite when he begins his French Open campaign, especially as he takes on two local lads in the first two rounds.
Sinner showed no signs of rust at the Italian Open, while returning after a three-month-long break, as he made a run to the final, much to the delight of his home fans in Rome.
Roddick warned Sinner that he should be prepared to face a hostile crowd at the French Open, since he had two Frenchmen in his draw in the initial rounds.
“I’m just telling you, as nice as the reception was for Sinner when he had kind of that soft landing in Rome, where he was getting standing ovations by the press when he spoke to the media,” Roddick said while speaking on his podcast.
“It’s like two Frenchmen straight out of the gate, that’s a guarantee and then Arthur Fils, he is going to hear it from the French crowd in Paris for the first week of this year’s French Open,” Roddick added.
Although the former player acknowledged that Sinner seemed to excel at compartmentalising and not paying heed to any criticism, he said that the latter was not immune to the impact of being booed.
“He is going to deal with some things coming off this suspension. It doesn’t seem to bother him. He seems like he’s able to compartmentalise, but you hear it, you just do,” Roddick said.
Sinner said on Friday that he was expecting a different atmosphere at the French Open, his first major after a three-month doping ban.
Sinner returned to competition in front of his home fans at the Italian Open earlier this month, where he lost in the final to Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz.
“It’s going to be different. I know that. But I don’t think they have something against me, no? It’s right that they support the players who are from here, who are local here,” Sinner said.
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