Jannik Sinner made sure Jesper De Jong was okay (Image: Tennis TV)
Jannik Sinner went to extreme lengths to make sure Jesper De Jong was fully supported after the Dutchman suffered a nasty injury during their match at the Italian Open. In the fifth game of the second set, De Jong slipped on the clay surface and tumbled to the floor.
Sinner, who won the point as a result of De Jong’s fall, raced to the other side of the court to ensure his opponent was okay. He crouched at his side until medics appeared to lead the stricken starr off the court. Laughing as he picked himself up, De Jong had seemingly only suffered a minor knock to his right wrist and arm. However, Sinner still insisted on helping while the 24-year-old received treatment.
As De Jong was led to his court-side seat, the Italian recovered his racket from the court. He then placed at his his rival’s side before noticing it was dirty.
Sinner cleaned the racket before returning it to De Jong. The incident underlined Sinner’s classy approach on court.
It is almost exactly a year to the day since the three-time Grand Slam champion ensured water made its way to a fan who had suffered a medical emergency at the Italian Open. In a similar incident at last year’s Miami Open, Sinner sent a towel and water up the stands to a fan who required attention.
He went on to beat De Jong 6-4 6-2 in the second round on Monday. His opponent returned to the court following his fall and received further strapping at the next changeover.
Jannik Sinner helped Jesper De Jong after the Dutchman suffered a fall (Image: Getty)
Speaking afterwards, Sinner said: “It was a completely different match to my first one, different conditions. I felt like I started the match very well and then I had a big drop. He started to play a little bit better and I tried to understand what was going on. Fortunately, I broke him at 4-4 which gave me the confidence to continue.
“The second set went how it went. He hurt himself, it was obvious. He’s an amazing player but even more an amazing person so I wish him only the best. We all hope that it’s nothing too serious.”
Sinner is playing for the first time since serving a three-month ban from tennis. The 23-year-old was initially cleared of wrongdoing after testing positive for banned substance clostebol, but agreed to observe a period of suspension after the World Anti-doping Agency argued an athlete should bear some responsibility for the negligence of their team.
