THE MODERATOR: Jannik, welcome back to Shanghai as defending champion. Of course, you just won the China Open yesterday as well. How much do you like to play in China, and what can you say about your fans here?
JANNIK SINNER: Yeah, of course it feels great to be back here. It's a very special tournament, obviously the last one we have in Asia again. It's great to come back here.
Of course, conditions are definitely different than Beijing, so I have only one practice session to get ready, but let's see. It's going to be a very, very difficult and tough challenge, especially the first round match. You never know what's going to happen, so let's see. But obviously I'm very happy to be back here and play in front of Shanghai fans.
Q. You talked about after the US Open you were going to make some changes in your game a little bit. Do you feel like you implemented them pretty well in Beijing and the way you played all week?
JANNIK SINNER: Yeah, I mean, I'm not the only one who is changing. If you ask every player, every player is changing stuff and trying to get better. You know, whatever we try to do, it's not crazy steps, just trying to adjust a couple of things, trying to get better as a player, like everyone else does.
Yeah, I mean, that's it. Certain shots that worked slightly better than the months before, certain shots we can still improve. But it's also normal, and I'm just looking forward to have as many matches as possible in every tournament. This gives me also the chance to try as many things as possible. So, let's see, but, yeah, we are quite happy with the work we are doing.
Q. You mentioned you're only going to have one practice session. You flew down yesterday. A lot of other players have been talking about the schedule. Do you agree with other players who have expressed criticism of the schedule and call for it to be modified so players can rest more?
JANNIK SINNER: Yeah, I mean, I don't want to criticize anything. For me, everyone thinks in different ways. We can still, as I always say, we can still choose, you know, as players, you just have to understand what the priority is for ourself.
I always made choices, even last year, you know, sometimes jumping some tournaments. The schedule is what it is. If you want to play a tournament, you have to play tournament. If not, you make another choice to rest or practice, you know, that's it. So, yeah, it is what it is.
Q. Looking over the Beijing stats here, you were very impressive on the break points saved, 21 out of 26 for the week. Only been broken, for the season you're at 73 percent on break points saved. Just talk about, is that one of the parts of your game that you've actually improved a lot on, just on your pressure points, on break points saved and serving overall?
JANNIK SINNER: I think it's something, I won't say natural, but, you know, in that moment you don't think about these stats. I always try to stick into what the best choice would be in that moment. At times it works very well, and at times you just make mistakes. It's normal, and you have to accept it.
General things, I always try to push myself to the limits, trying to put myself in a position where I can say that I'm doing the right choices on court. You can make mistakes and it's fine, and this is how I go into pressure moments and difficult moments.
Q. I wanted to ask how you're feeling, because I think you had some stomach issues earlier in the week. Have you recovered, how are you feeling about playing again?
JANNIK SINNER: Yeah, I feel good. I said it before the final that I'm ready for the final, and so it was. Here, it's different. It's more humid, it's hotter. I don't know how it's going to feel on court, but, you know, today I have one day where I can rest, and tomorrow I am going to have more feedback for my body and mind, and trying to prepare the first round match, then we'll see how it goes.
I'm looking forward to it. It's a great challenge. You know, playing first round matches are never easy, so let's see what's coming, and hopefully I can show some good tennis here.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports