"My ankle could snap" - Jannik Sinner sliding on grass during match in Halle surprises Thanasi Kokkinakis and others

Jannik Sinner sliding on the grasscourt of Halle during his rallies against Lorenzo Sonego has surprised his colleagues, including Thanasi Kokkinakis.

On Thursday, June 22, Jannik Sinner took on compatriot and friend Lorenzo Sonego in the second round of the 2023 Terra Wortmann Open in Halle. The 21-year-old was off to a slow start and ended up losing the opening set in the tiebreak. The Italian, however, made headway in the second set and scored a crucial break to level the sets tally.

The younger Italian maintained his form in the deciding set and earned yet another break, eventually concluding the encounter 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 in his favor, after two hours and 52 minutes of grueling rallies.

One of the unique highlights of the match was Jannik Sinner sliding on the grasscourt to chase the ball. While Novak Djokovic is another such player who is known to incorporate sliding during his grasscourt matches, athletes generally refrain from implementing the clay-specific technique on the lawn.

Sinner’s colleagues were thus amused by his impressive movement on grass and shared their reactions. Australian tennis player Daria Saville wondered how the World No. 8 was able to slide on the surface.

“How do you all slide on grass,” she said.

Her compatriot Thanasi Kokkinakis seconded her view and added that his ankle wouldn’t be able to cope.

“Legit my ankle feels like it could snap into 2 pieces,” he admitted.

Montenegrin tennis player Danka Kovinic too echoed the sentiment.

“The only thing I know is that I am not gonna find that out,” she said.

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"On grass courts it's never easy" – Jannik Sinner on his win against Lorenzo Sonego in Halle

Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon in 2022

Jannik Sinner inaugurated his grasscourt campaign at the Libema Open, where he made a winning start against Alexander Bublik, but faced an upset against Emil Ruusuvuori in the next round.

At the ongoing Terra Wortmann Open in Halle, he got the better of veteran Richard Gasquet in two hours and 29 minutes before dismissing Lorenzo Sonego in his most recent match.

“It was a tough match for sure,” Jannik Sinner said during the on-court interview after defeating Sonego. “I made a couple of mistakes in the tie-break but that can happen. On grass courts it’s never easy, and the way I reacted, especially mentally, I guess I did a good job. Obviously playing against him is never easy.”

The 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist, who is tipped as of the favorites at the SW19 this year, stated that he is happy to have played long matches, as they help boost his confidence on the surface.

“I’ve played a lot of hours these couple of matches but it’s better. I can touch more balls on the grass courts and hopefully it can give me a lot of confidence,” he said.

Sinner will next take on Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals, in what will be a rematch of last week’s Libema Open first round.