Jannik Sinner explains why he was ‘nervous’ and had ‘doubts’ ahead of playing his first match in China vs Marin Cilic

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Jannik Sinner emerged victorious in his first tour-level match since losing both the US Open final and world number one status earlier this month.

Weeks after Sinner fell to Carlos Alcaraz in New York, the Italian opened his account in the Asian Swing with an opening-round victory over Marin Cilic at the China Open.

The world number two dominated the former Grand Slam champion, besting Cilic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, to book his place in the round of 16 in Beijing for the third straight year.

It was a strong return to tour-level competition for Sinner, who admitted he felt ‘nervous’ ahead of his clash with the Croatian.

Jannik Sinner reacts to his first match back at the China Open

“[I] was very excited to go back and play official matches,” said the 2023 China Open champion in his post-match press conference.

“We did a lot of work to be in this position again, no? I’m very happy. I missed the competition. Yeah, of course you are nervous. You have doubts. It’s normal. Every day it’s like this.

“But you have to be also excited to go again on court. At the moment I feel great physically and mentally, which is the most important.

“Yeah, the more the match goes on, the more you loosen up a little bit. Also the body and mind, it was all good today.”

On the new facilities at the China Open, Sinner said: “We have more practice courts, which gives the players possibility to choose practice times or also the length of the practice a little bit better.

“The gym has improved. Everything, no? The food area, it’s slightly bigger and good food. Everything is working very well here.

“I think all players are happy to come here. They take really good care of us. Yeah, amazing. The facility is quite big.

“There’s lots of room to do whatever you want, basically. It’s very nice.”

Jannik Sinner says the China Open is ‘growing’ every year

When asked about his interactions with fans in Beijing, Sinner said: “It’s very nice to come here.”

“Since day one, when you practice, a lot of people watching the practice. You feel the passion people here have. I’m very happy to bring my energy to them.

“Obviously, they love tennis. That’s the reason why they come here. That’s the reason why I play here. It was a nice feeling to go out on this court to play match again. I have some great memories there.

“Every year I feel like it’s growing, the sport or the passion for tennis here. From the woman’s side you have amazing players.

“On the men’s side, too, you have several players who play amazing tennis. This influences a lot also the crowd here in China. That’s exactly what is important here for this country.”

In his next match at the China Open, Sinner will face Terence Atmane, who had an incredible run at the Cincinnati Open before losing to the then-world number one in the semifinals.