Q: Lorenzo, you’ve been here in Rio before. Can you tell us your impressions?
A: Yeah. I mean, two years ago I was here. I was probably not playing my best tennis, but of course, I was enjoying the city and the people and the crowd were pretty amazing. And of course, I wanted to come here in a good shape, which I'm not, but you know, happy, happy to be to be here.
Q: You withdrew Buenos Aires readier this week because of an injury. Can you give us un update on that?
A: Yeah, it was, you know, a tough decision to take, you know, pulling out of Buenos Aires, but that was the right thing to do with the injury that I I got. So tomorrow is gonna be the last exams, and I will see if I can make it to play here in Rio or not. At the moment, I didn't touch the racket since last match for of course, prevention, but tomorrow morning, I have
a scan, and that's the last hope for me to play here. Really, really, really sad in case I won't be playing, because I I was prepared. I was feeling really well in Buenos Aires, had a good sensation. So I think it could be, you know, a nice week here in Rio. But, I mean, maybe tomorrow I can be surprised by the scan, and I hope the result is positive, and I can play.
Q: Lorenzo. I know you're still quite young, but you kind of break through the tour five years ago, and we're seeing now a Brazilian kind of emerging. You've went through this process of being a young star, playing tournaments, challengers ATP tour. Being in the spotlight now, being a top athlete and seeing João, what are your impressions and what were the main challenges you feel he will need to pass through to become a top player?
A: I always saw him playing, not just this past week in Buenos Aires, but I've seen him since he won, like, for example, the US Open Junior. I really like him, especially because he's a nice guy, and that's what I like the most. And you can see in his face, you know, the ambition, the dreams that he has, and it reminds me a little bit of myself when I was younger, when I was, you know, starting. I think he has a great team behind behind him, with experience. The only advice or tip that I could give to him is to surrend himself with people that really care about him, and not just listening around too much. I say this for personal experience. I think the critical moment for an athlete who is transferring from, not Junior, but like from a certain age to the pro level is to confirm that ambition every week, every moment. You are not used to it, but it seems like he lives under pressure really well, as he showed this week in Buenos Aires and in the Australian Open. So I think he's doing really a good job. I really like him, you know, how he plays. He hits the ball in a really unique way. So if, if I'm not playing this week, I will be cheering for him.
Q: Hi, Lorenzo, welcome to Rio. Can you talk about, about the t-shirt you are wearing?
A: Yeah, it was given to me by Asics. We've done a day with the kids of the tennis in Lagoa, which is really close by. So they gave me this t-shirt as I’m their brand ambassador. So I think it was a nice way to be, you know, to wear this kind of Brazilian t-shirt for this event,
Q: Lorenzo. Here we had this week the news about Jannik Sinner suspension, I mean, and you had some strong reactions in tennis, even among players like Stan Wawrinka, saying that he doesn't believe anymore in clean sport. What can you say about this?
A: I mean, it's tough to think everyone has their own opinion, and he's free. Everyone is free to have their opinion. But of course I don't know, really, in details the facts, so it's tough to judge. But of course, I trust the organization, which is the doiping commission, and all the commission that has been behind the process, and they finalized a decision. So if that decision is, you know, the three months suspension, for us I don't think it changed much.
Q: Have you been in touch with Jannik after this?
A: No, no, I haven't been in touch with him. But, of course, I will probably see him in Monte Carlo when I come back, because he's not supposed to play but of course he will be there. So hopefully we can talk about it. But of course, I think he has, as I said in Buenos Aires, I was impressed in the Davis Cup, for example, when everyone was criticizing him how he managed, you know, to stay calm and to live under pressure with so much confidence, I would say, and even, you know, winning the Australian Open back to back, it was kind of impressive. And I think he's gonna manage, you know, to use these three months suspension at his best.
