Having swept the clay-court season so far, with titles in Monte-Carlo, Madrid, and Rome, Jannik Sinner has decided to listen to his body, heading into Roland Garros for the big prize. The Italian tennis player talked about the preparations he needed to make before going to Paris, but it anything to do with tennis. In fact, the World No.1 was quite determined to follow a “strict zero” policy in the week leading up to the French Open.

Recovery is the main goal in Sinner’s mind right now as he has been playing on the Tour almost non-stop since Indian Wells in March. Talking to the media, the 24-year-old made it clear that he needed to recover physically and recharge himself before heading to Paris.

While speaking to the Italian media, Sinner said: “Yeah, no, the main priority is to recover as much as I can in the next two, three days. There is not going to be a lot of training, for sure. Tennis, zero. Physically, we need to see. I want to be a little bit with my family, as well, in this moment. Switching off on tennis, then from Thursday on, I think I will be there in Paris. Prepare, and we’ll see how it goes. Yeah, look, now it’s important to rest.”

Sinner’s zero-tennis policy echoes past champions. Novak Djokovic did not play a lead-up event on the grass and made a direct switch from clay to grass at Wimbledon in the past 7-8 years. Roger Federer would come to the Australian Open completely fresh, in some seasons, without any warm-up events.

However, Sinner has had his fair share of warmups this season. Coming into this season, the Italian had not won any of the big clay-court titles, and now, heading into Roland Garros, he attempts to match what only the great Rafael Nadal has accomplished in the sport.

Jannik Sinner Is on Course to Match Rafael Nadal’s Unique Clay-Court Record

With the title in Rome, Sinner completed the full set of Masters 1000 titles on the ATP Tour, a feat achieved only by Novak Djokovic before him, but the Italian did so in 63 fewer main draw appearances than the Serb. Now Sinner eyes Roland Garros to match Nadal’s unmatched clay-court record.

Back in 2010, the left-handed Mallorcan became the first man to win all the big clay-court titles, including the three Masters 1000 events, and win the French Open. The fact that two of his greatest contemporaries, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, could not achieve the feat shows the difficulty of doing so.

Now with the three Masters titles secured, Sinner looks to win the French Open and match Nadal’s unique feat. The Italian will have the advantage as Carlos Alcaraz, who beat him in the Roland Garros in an epic final last year, is not in the draw due to injury. His nemesis at this year’s Australian Open, Novak Djokovic, has played little clay-court tennis, and it remains to be seen whether he can sustain the physical demands of clay. And as for the rest of the field, Sinner seems to be head and shoulders above everyone, even against the second-seeded Alexander Zverev, whom he has beaten in their nine previous matches, including four this year.

One of the most credible challenges for Sinner will be his own fitness. Physicality is an area where the Italian seems a bit vulnerable, especially in hot conditions, as seen in his match against Eliot Spizzirri at the Australian Open. He also seemed to struggle in his match against Daniil Medvedev in Rome and had to receive on-court treatment. The switch to best-of-five set tennis will not be easy, but one can expect Sinner to move past such challenges and be at his best on the Parisian clay, where he was one point away from the title last year.