Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner has decided not to take the court for the round of 16 of the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000, forgoing his clash with Australian Alex De Minaur. The official reason was "fatigue", but controversy over the absurd schedule imposed by the tournament organizers was also behind the choice. Sinner, world November 4 and fresh winner of the ATP 500 in Vienna, had ended his match against the U.S. Mackenzie McDonald on Tuesday night at 2:36 a.m. after regaining a one-set disadvantage and fighting for two hours and 23 minutes. The young South Tyrolean had left open the doubt about his participation in the next match, scheduled for 5 p.m. Wednesday: "I don't know if I will play, I will see when I wake up". The decision came just hours before the start of the challenge with De Minaur: Sinner preferred to forfeit and preserve his energy ahead of the ATP Finals in Turin, scheduled for November 12-19, where he will be the fourth seed. "I am sorry," Sinner wrote on X, "I finished the match when it was almost 3 a.m. and went to bed only a few hours later. I had less than 12 hours to rest and prepare for the next match. I have to make the right decision for my health and my body. The weeks ahead with the ATP Finals at home and the Davis Cup will be very important, now I focus on preparing for these important events. See you in Turin!" His retirement sparked debate in the tennis world, between those who criticized the organizers for not taking into account the needs of the players and those who argued that Sinner should honor the tournament to the end. Sinner, who has won four ATP titles this year and reached the semifinals at the U.S. Open, aims to climb the world rankings again and move closer to the podium occupied by Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Rafael Nadal.
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