"Have to be really brave at every moment": Jannik Sinner on facing close rival on big stage

Turin [Italy], November 8 : World No. 4 Jannik Sinner is well aware of the effect that defeating a close opponent on a major platform can have on a player's confidence for the next stage as he chases the ATP Final title.
The World No. 4 has triumphed in nine of his last eleven matches against players ranked in the Top 20, including his last four against qualifiers for the ATP Finals this year.
Sinner first won the ATP Masters 1000 in August in Toronto. He then won the trophy in early October in Beijing after defeating Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz back-to-back. Later that month, in Vienna, Sinner repeated the victory against Medvedev and Andrey Rublev.
"When you [feeling] confident, it's always a little bit easier to play, but you have to gain the confidence. It's not that you can buy it. It's a very important part. Obviously [it builds up] the more matches you win, but also against what kind of players you win is important. So [the Beijing wins] were very important," Sinner told ATPTour.com.
With radically different results versus Alcaraz and Medvedev, Sinner had travelled to Beijing. Though he led his ATP Head2Head series 4-3 after his straight-sets victory over Alcaraz in the Chinese capital, the Italian went into the championship match versus Medvedev having lost their previous six tour-level encounters.
"I would say it impacts you a little bit at some point, but in another way, in your mind, you know that every time is completely different when you step on court. Obviously, you can feel that," said Sinner, when asked about how past experiences with an opponent can affect him.
"It may be certain game styles can match a little bit better than against other ones, but I think generally, you just have to be ready for the day. Don't think about the past, even if you're up in the head-to-head. You have to be really brave at every moment," he added.
Sinner succeeded in breaking his duck against Medvedev in China by winning two tie-breaks and then going on to defeat the same player in three sets in the Vienna final. The 22-year-old may have found it difficult to overcome the psychological effects of his six prior losses against Medvedev, but Sinner believes that strategic adjustments were what ultimately allowed him to win.
"I think it was more [about] tennis than the mental side, because I changed up my game a little bit against him. Before I was not feeling ready to do it, and practising every day in the right way. I tried to make it happen. I did it, but obviously it is also mental because you also have to be ready to do it in the match. So I think it's a mix of tennis and also the mental side," Sinner said.