Portugal Colonial - Sinner says early Halle exit gives him more time to prepare for Wimbledon

The Italian defending champion went down 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 to the 45th-ranked Kazakh Alexander Bublik in Thursday's second round in the German grasscourt Wimbledon warm-up.

"I have to accept what happened. I'm now going to have a few days rest before Wimbledon, which are going to do me good" said Sinner.

He now has 10 days between Thursday's loss and the start of his Wimbledon campaign, where he seeks to dethrone Carlos Alcaraz, his conqueror in a five-set epic French Open final at Roland Garros earlier this month.

Halle in 2024 is the only grass court title Sinner has to his name. He made it to the semi-finals in Wimbledon two years ago. Last year he was beaten in the quarters.

"Honestly a little break is going to do me good," the 23-year-old told Sky Italia.

"I came here (to Halle), I gave it my all after the Roland Garros defeat, it wasn't easy," he added.

"Despite everything I'm happy enough.

"I've played two matches before Wimbledon, if there'd been more it would have been even better.

"Now I've got to boost myself both mentally and physically, that takes a little time," but for Wimbledon, "everything will be fine".

Sinner's loss to Alcaraz at the French Open was his first defeat in a Grand Slam final.

Prior to that defeat Sinner also lost to Alcaraz in the Rome Open final just after returning from a three-month doping suspension following his Australian Open success.

A.F.Rosado--PC