"I don't make the courts": Jannik Sinner addresses Zverev's claim of Shanghai's slow speed favoritism

Jannik Sinner was surprised by Alexander Zverev's comments regarding the slow courts at the Shanghai Masters, after the German suggested that tournament directors aim to favor the Italian and Carlos Alcaraz.

One of the topics dominating the start of the tournament is the slow speed of the courts, which has led to some criticism. Alex de Minaur claimed the court was one of the slowest he had played on in his career, while Alexander Zverev went further, directly criticizing the organization and suggesting they seek to favor the World No. 1 and No. 2, Alcaraz and Sinner.

“I hate when it’s the same, to be honest," Zverev said after his debut win against Valentin Royer. "And I think that the tournament directors are going towards that direction because, obviously, they want Jannik and Carlos to do well every tournament, and that’s what they prefer.”

“Nowadays, you can play almost the same way on every surface. I don’t like it, I’m not a fan of it, I think tennis needs different game styles, tennis needs a little bit of variety, and I think we’re lacking that right now.”

Sinner was asked about his colleague's comments in the locker rooms, appearing surprised and visibly annoyed by the statement. "Wow. I don't know what to say on that one to be honest,” Sinner replied with a confused expression, taking a few seconds before continuing. “It’s, a question that… i don’t know… we don’t, at least I don’t make the courts, i jsut want to play tennis to be honest. I’m trying to play as good as i cna, and i don’t know, thank you.”

Zverev’s comments came shortly after 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer launched his own accusations about how court speeds have decreased over the years. "We need to have not only fast courts, but what we would want to see is Alcaraz or Sinner figure it out on lightning fast courts and then have the same match on super slow courts and see how that matches up," said the 20-time Grand Slam champion. "It's because the tournament directors have allowed with the ball speed and the court speed that every week is basically the same. And that's why you can just go from winning, French, Wimbledon, US Open, and just play the same way."

Sinner had previously been asked for his opinion on the changes in speed across different tournaments on the Tour, but he preferred to downplay the importance of the conditions he encounters at each event. “The hard courts, they are at times very similar. At times there are some small changes, couple of changes," Sinner said. "One tournament that comes up a bit is Indian Wells because the ball bounces very high. It's a bit different how the ball reacts with the court.

“But yeah, if not, we have more or less similar game situations on the court, yes. This is how it is already since a long time, like this. I don't know if there is going to be a change or not. I'm just a player who tries to adapt myself in the best possible way. I feel like I'm doing a good job in this. But let's see what the future can give us in every tournament.”