Marion Bartoli has revealed she was left in “shock” after Jannik Sinner approached her for a warm conversation after his French Open heartbreak.
After winning his first three Grand Slam finals, Sinner tasted defeat in a major final for the first time at Roland Garros last June, falling in five sets to leading rival Carlos Alcaraz.
At five hours and 29 minutes long, the match became the longest French Open final of the Open Era, and proved particularly brutal for Sinner.
The Italian had led Alcaraz by two sets to love and a break and ultimately missed three championship point chances in the fourth set, becoming just the third man in the Open Era to lose a Grand Slam final after holding match point.
Sinner was magnanimous and gracious in defeat during his on-court speech, and former Wimbledon champion Bartoli has now revealed another classy moment from the world No 2 post-match.
Having retired from the sport shortly after her 2013 Wimbledon win, Bartoli is now one of the most respected broadcasters in the game, and regularly interviewed Sinner during the tournament.
During a recent appearance on BBC 5 Live, the former world No 7 revealed that Sinner approached her for a conversation after the final.
She said: “He made the effort to stood [sic] up, came towards me, and I was like: ‘Is he really coming towards me?’
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“[He] came towards me and obviously I stood up in front of him. He was like: ‘Oh, man, it was really nice for your interview during 15 days. I can’t wait to see you at Wimbledon.’
“And I was in a state of shock, that after almost six hours of play on the court, he still remembers who I am, and make the effort to stand up and come on the court.
“I would have broke everything it’s possible to break in the locker room if I would have lost a Grand Slam final after having three match points — and I would have definitely not made the effort to go around and wave goodbye to someone working at broadcasting.”
Just 35 days after his heartbreaking loss in Paris, Sinner bounced back by beating Alcaraz in four sets in the Wimbledon final, lifting the title at SW19 for the first time.
Many noted the 24-year-old’s astonishing response to what was probably the most painful defeat of his career, and Bartoli was among the latest to praise the Italian.
She added: “He is someone made of something else and I think that’s because of that he was able to recover for Wimbledon.
“The level of integrity, of respect, of dignity, those two [Sinner and Alcaraz] are capable of showing in the toughest moments, is something, for me, absolutely extraordinary, and I’m absolutely not — and I was not — at their level, and they’re a true example, even for myself nowadays.”
Sinner’s 2026 campaign will not officially get underway until the Australian Open, which begins on Sunday, January 18.
The Italian is the two-time defending champion in Melbourne, and will look to follow in Novak Djokovic’s footsteps as just the second man in the Open Era to win the title in three consecutive years.
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