No. 1 Jannik Sinner has ramped up training ahead of Wimbledon title defense

LONDON (AP) 鈥� Jannik Sinner said he’s changed his physical workload after his , when he felt ill and dizzy in a second-round loss.

So, he’s taking it a bit easier? Wrong.

鈥淢uch longer sessions 鈥� both in the gym and on the court,” he said. “We did everything together but without any breaks. 鈥� Now we鈥檒l see how I react on the court.鈥�

Sinner spoke Saturday 鈥� in English and Italian 鈥� at as he prepares to . He opens against Miomir Kecmanovic on Centre Court on Monday, when the temperature is expected to be 25 C (77 F).

With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by a wrist injury, Sinner is the leading favorite 鈥� just like he was in Paris 鈥� to win at the grass-court major.

Following his early exit at Roland Garros, Sinner did take a week off 鈥� and did some testing.

鈥淕eneral tests to see health-wise how I was, to be sure that all is OK with the body, which is. All tests were really good,鈥� he said.

And then it was back to work.

Sinner, who has in the past, said, 鈥淲e need to practice in hotter conditions. I feel like everywhere where we play is going to be very hot. Every year is getting warmer and warmer. It is a very important topic.鈥�

At the French Open, Sinner came within one game of concluding his second-round match in straight sets when he led 5-1 in the third. But amid a Paris heat wave, he struggled with dizziness and was beaten by Juan Manuel Cerundolo 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1.

There’s no quick fix, he added.

鈥淲e are happy at the moment with what we are doing. The result we鈥檙e not going to see here. It鈥檚 a long process. There鈥檚 no magic behind it.

鈥淚鈥檓 very happy with the work we did in the last two and a half weeks,鈥� Sinner added. 鈥淰ery long days. I feel well prepared.鈥�

He spoke in Italian about the longer training sessions but added: 鈥淚 don鈥檛 like to talk too much about exactly what we changed, but we changed the physical workload a bit.鈥�

No warmups needed

This week, Sinner said it was always his plan to not do warmup tournaments ahead of Wimbledon.

鈥淚f you play a tournament before here, maybe it鈥檚 not going the way you would like to, you come here with some doubts,鈥� he said. “If you don鈥檛 play any tournament, you don鈥檛 have these doubts, you just go and play.

鈥淟ast year I lost second round in Halle. I came here and I played very well,鈥� said Sinner, who beat two-time champion Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final.

Benefits of being Wimbledon champion

A perk of being a Wimbledon champion is getting an All England Club membership.

鈥淚t’s a great honor for me. As I鈥檝e always said, it鈥檚 the best tournament we have, the most prestigious, and so having this thing for my whole life is very, very nice,鈥� Sinner said.

He reminded that he’s just 24 years old so probably won’t appreciate the membership until after he retires from playing.

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AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed.

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