The two Italians on the field in the late morning to acclimate to the Californian heat. Jannik will be on the pitch during the Italian night between Friday and Saturday (at 3am)
Just over a month ago Jannik Sinner and Luciano Darderi (read his diary in the Gazzetta here) played for access to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open. Now, ahead of the start of the first Masters 1000 of the season in Indian Wells, they have chosen to train together, with their respective teams. An important finish for both, for different reasons. Sinner, semi-finalist in 2023 and 2024 in California, aims to promptly redeem the defeat in Doha at the hands of Mensik. He will make his debut on the night between Friday and Saturday (at 3 am Italian time) against the Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina. For Darderi, ever closer to entering the top 20, it was the opportunity to immediately exchange at a high pace and gain confidence with the hard court after the satisfying swing on the South American red clay. And a moment, for both, of joy shared between blues.
choices
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Sinner will return after two years to play in Indian Wells, a tournament with difficult conditions, given the great heat. In front of a rich audience, wearing a white t-shirt and black shorts, he exchanged for a long time from the baseline with Darderi. Both forehand and backhand. What stood out, however, was precisely the choice to train at around 11 in the morning in California. With a very warm temperature, to best get used to all possible conditions. A convenient time also for Darderi, who even more than Jannik could find himself playing during the day in the first rounds. He will instead make his debut on Saturday, against Francesco Maestrelli or Rinky Hijikata. The choice of partner is not random: Svrcina, Sinner’s first opponent, mainly plays with pace from the baseline. As well as Darderi, who appeared very happy in the photo with the Italian n.1. At a particular intersection between the training fields.
stars
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What stands out in the video of the training between Sinner and Darderi, besides the blue duo, is the nearby pitch. There, at the same time as Jannik, the two-time champion of the tournament, and the last to beat the world no.2 in Indian Wells, Carlos Alcaraz, was training. The Spaniard, still unbeaten in 2026, will open his campaign in California tomorrow, like Darderi. He will face Grigor Dimitrov in an intriguing debut, following the Bulgarian’s victory over Atmane. The Spaniard trained with the Czech Jiri Lehecka.
when the Italians play
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Said of the Sinner-Svrcina time, Musetti-Fucsovics will be around 10pm today, preceded around 8pm by the Berrettini-Zverev and Cobolli-Kecmanovic matches. Jasmine Paolini will take the field around 1am Italian time between Friday and Saturday.
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