J. SINNER/T. Fritz
4-6, 6-3, 7-6
THE MODERATOR: Questions.
Q. I wanted to ask you about throwing out the first pitch at the Yankee game, what that experience was like.
JANNIK SINNER: It was a great experience. I want to thank the Yankee's organization from, you know, making it possible for me. It was my first baseball experience overall, the first time visiting any baseball game. It was a packed house, almost 50,000 people. Obviously a big rivalry. Probably the biggest rivalry that you have in baseball with the Red Sox and Yankees.
I got that privilege to be able to access the locker room and met Aaron Judge and the guys. So impressed with Aaron particularly, his size. I mean, he's humongous. He's incredible (laughter).
Yeah, he was very nice. I gave him a racquet, a signed racquet, he gave me a bat. Yeah, I was warming up with one of the guys for that pitch. It was on the level ground.
Once I got to go and, you know, throw the first pitch, I was on elevated, you know, ground, like a little hill. Then I didn't throw that accurate, but, you know, it still wasn't as embarrassing I think as some of the other guys I saw in the past (laughter).
Yeah, it was fun. I was treated very nicely. I was very honored to be there. To be honest, I became a fan. I didn't follow baseball that much, didn't know what to think of it, to be honest but, since yesterday, I really became a fan. I just -- I really -- I followed it as everyone was giving me, like, little bit of details and insights on the game.
Once you really understand it, you follow it, then you are really immersed in it. I just really liked the experience. I didn't stay all the way through to the end, but I watched more than half of the game and really enjoyed myself.
Q. Novak, I wanted to ask what you, and if you have a sense, what other players think about the prize winning increase here this year --
JANNIK SINNER: Yeah.
Q. -- for the champions, for across the board, and whether that's movement you consider satisfactory in the kinds of things players are hoping for, or if there's still work to be done in that area?
JANNIK SINNER: Look, it's a step in the right direction. Obviously, it's always nice and positive to see that Grand Slams are willing to improve the prize money overall across the board for the players.
Whether it's an ideal situation for us, I think overall, I don't think so. I think there's still a lot more room for improvement in that sense.
By the way, just for the record, I'm not talking about myself, because I see that in the past when I talk about this topic, people like to say, 'Well, look at him wanting more money for himself.' It's not about that. I'm just talking about overall, in general, as I was talking about it in previous years.
You know, not many tennis players live out of this sport globally. That's not something that I see has been talked about enough. So it's a step in the right direction. Of course, I always welcome that and I always like to see that happen.
But it's also, you know, important to understand that we live in very a commercial world. Entertainment, sports business is very big. For Grand Slams, they're doing very well, as well.
US Open increased the prize money. Other slams are doing it, too. But they also have a bigger revenue than the previous years. Then there's the inflation part, which is a completely different topic, but important to take in consideration when you talk about these things.
Again, overall it's definitely a positive step.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports