Jannik Sinner vows to come back stronger after shock loss at French Open

The 2023 French Open will no doubt serve as an important lesson for Jannik Sinner in his fledgling tennis career.

The world number nine had high hopes heading to the French Open after claiming his seventh ATP Tour title in Montpellier and reaching the semifinals at the Monte Carlo Masters.

However, Sinner's Parisian campaign came to a premature end after a five and half hour marathon match against world number 79 Daniel Altmaier on Thursday. The five-set thriller featured no less than three tiebreakers and Sinner had a chance to win the match late in the fourth, but squandered his two match points.

Unfortunately, lacking the killer blow was a theme for Sinner, as he converted just six of his 21 breakpoint chances. This fact was not lost on Sinner...

"I had my opportunities... I couldn't find a right way how to win the points," the 21-year-old told atptour.com.

"I was a little bit unfortunate at some points. But this is the sport. I will come back stronger.

"I knew it was a tough last two tournaments. I put a little bit too much expectations or pressure [on myself], it's part of the game. I feel like the season is going good. I played a lot of matches. It is a tough one to swallow, but I [will] keep going."

The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals winner has put in the hard yards this season, which has resulted in him making three finals. As such, Sinner insisted the disappointing result wasn't for lack of preparedness.

"I felt very prepared for here," continued the Italian.

"Mentally I felt good. Physically we were working hard. Long, long practice sessions. It's tough when you work so hard and you don't take the reward. But this is not a sprint. This sport is a marathon.

"I will keep going with the hard work, and I will also get my rewards. This was, it's a tough one, yes, but it doesn't end here."