Jannik Sinner sets "very, very low expectations" for his tennis return in Rome

This week will mark the return of World No. 1 Jannik Sinner to the tennis courts, at his home turf in Rome, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia. He has been missed a lot by Italian tennis fans, but Sinner knows that it is not realistic to have high expectations after not playing for three months (due to the his ban by the World Anti Doping Agency) and has said that his expectations are "very, very low".

"It's a very, very low expectation tournament in general for me, it's also talking results wise. What's missing is the complete feedback of where my level is. That's going to come then slowly with the time of playing, after the first round match I'm going to have a good picture of myself, where I am at", he said to the press con Monday.

Sinner last played in the Australian Open final, where he beat Zverev. His ban ended on May 4, but he was allowed to start training on April 13, as long as he didn't play with any other professional tennis player.

Sinner explains that, during training, he could felt that he hadn't been playing for quite a long time. "The body still has to adjust the times, the blisters in hands they come again because you're not used to it anymore." His main goal is Paris, and in Rome he is "not to beat everyone but to challenge myself".