Jannik Sinner said his first Indian Wells title was the result of meticulous preparation in the heat of the Californian desert after the Italian arrived a week before the tournament began to train and acclimatise.

The world number two has sometimes struggled in hot and humid conditions, most notably when severe cramp nearly forced him to quit his Australian Open third-round match in January and when he retired in Shanghai last year.

No discomfort for Sinner at Indian Wells 

However, he showed little sign of discomfort during his 7-6(6) 7-6(4) win over Daniil Medvedev on Sunday, when the temperature approached 35 degrees Celsius shortly before the final’s scheduled start time of 2 p.m.

“It was hot but it wasn’t humid, so it makes a difference,” Sinner told reporters.

“But I’ve been here a week before the tournament started. Very similar conditions as it was today. We put in long days of practice. I felt very well prepared, so I wasn’t having issues with the weather and the heat, which is very positive for me.

“It’s all part of the process we’re trying to do and becoming the best possible athlete. We definitely do a lot of work in the gym to play at this level.”

Victory meant Sinner has now collected titles at all six ATP Masters 1000 events on hardcourts, as well as the ATP Finals, Australian Open and U.S. Open on the surface, to join an elite group also comprising Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.

“I knew that this was a tournament I haven’t won, so I wanted to prepare in the best possible way, as professionally as possible,” he said.

“Having this achievement now means a lot to me. Now I have couple of days to relax … there is not so much time in between here and Miami.

“It’s again an important tournament in Miami, but we try to play the best tennis possible there too.”

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has finally broken his silence on Novak Djokovic after the country’s biggest sporting icon moved his family to Greece. Djokovic’s wife, Jelena Djokovic, and his two children, Stefan and Tara, now live in Athens after leaving Belgrade last year.

While Djokovic has never really revealed the reason for leaving his country, Serbia, it has been reported that he decided to do so due to pro-Vucic national media running a
‘smear’ campaign against the 24-time Grand Slam winner after he extended support to anti-government agitations.

Djokovic vs Vucic

The anti-Vucic protest began in 2024 after an accident at a railway station led to the death of 16 people. Djokovic has at different stages supported the youth of the country, leading the protests.

“As someone who deeply believes in the power of young people and their desire for a better future, I consider it important that their voice is heard. Serbia has enormous potential, and educated youth is its greatest strength. What we all need is understanding and respect. With you, Novak.” Djokovic wrote on X in March 2025.

Now, while recently speaking to TV Pink, as quoted by Sport Klub, Vucic spoke about Djokovic for the first time since his move to Athens.

Vucic breaks silence on Djokovic leaving Serbia

Vucic praised Djokovic’s performance in the Australian Open 2026 as the 38-year-old reached the final, losing to Carlos Alcaraz.

“I wholeheartedly support Djokovic and all the people who wear the Serbian tricolour, and [I am] looking forward to his success,” Vucic said.

“[He showed] something incredible in those years [in his win against Jannik Sinner]. [He is] the greatest of this time in a difficult and demanding sport.

“It is much more than a congratulatory message, he represents his country with dignity and makes it popular. Regardless of the result of the final, I support him.”

President Vucic revealed that he had a word with Djokovic, but announced that he will “not change” his beliefs under anyone’s influence.

“I told him what I thought, now I would say it in a harsher way, not towards him, but towards the situation we were in,” Vucic added.

“I will not change my beliefs under the influence of any sports, acting or entertainment star.”

While Djokovic has not reacted to Vucic’s recent comments, the politician’s tough stance is only likely to isolate him further in Serbia. And his return to Belgrade in the near future looks even more unlikely.

Arthur Fils, Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev (Getty Images)

Dubai: The lines are blurring for today’s top tennis pros, chalk markings smudging the clean cuts of the fashion world.Arthur Fils, the 21-year-old ranked No. 34 on the ATP Tour, was recently signed by luxury fashion house Balenciaga. The talented Frenchman, who pulled out of the Dubai Duty Free tennis tournament with a strained hip, spends up to 15 minutes in front of his wardrobe deciding what to wear for dinner.“I take this, this and this and the mix always works. I’m pretty simple. I don’t go with crazy things,” he told TOI in an exclusive chat about his choices, which aren’t very different from what he does on the court. “Tennis is much more open now. More new brands are coming into the sport, we’re also signing with luxury brands. We are invited to a lot of events and there’s much more media now.”In the Carlos Alcaraz–Jannik Sinner era, forehands meet fashion collaborations, global luxury powerhouses walk alongside sports brands expanding into athleisure. The game’s new icons are not just chasing trophies; they are setting the tone for a generation that treats tennis as a vibe and lifestyle as much as grind and legacy.If the Roger Federer–Rafael Nadal–Novak Djokovic years were defined by sculpted perfection, the Alcaraz–Sinner era is about expression.Alexander Bublik, the second seed at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, points to age. He is 16 years younger than Federer and more than a decade younger than Nadal and Djokovic. Bublik, 28, ranked No. 10, was already on Tour when Alcaraz, 22, and Sinner, 24, emerged.“For me it was about looking up to them,” Bublik said of the golden generation. “We’re not friends; we are not going to be friends. With Carlos and Jannik it is a friendly relationship. Carlos is a funny guy, very, very loud. He wears crazy gear and Jannik is more style and elegance, an ice-cold approach on the court.”Bublik, who noted that these were much cooler times, as against the result-oriented stretch of the game’s golden era, said that back home in Kazakhstan or Russia, he even had movie offers.Andrey Rublev, whose unruly mop mirrors his temperament, calls it “a generational thing”.“Each generation had to contend with something,” he said. “Before Roger and Rafa, it was Sampras and Agassi; before that it was McEnroe and Borg. That was a different time, with no social media. They were doing many more things outside the court. In the time of Roger and Rafa, social media started and tennis also became more professional. Players were more kind of locked down, super professional.”“Now there’s a new generation, like the TikTok generation, so it’s just different,” the 28-year-old Russian said.Fils, for his part, admires the unapologetically expressive style of Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton.“There’s a lot of character in Lewis Hamilton’s style. When he goes anywhere, everyone looks at him because of what he’s wearing; it looks great on him. I like fashion and now I can wear a lot of cool stuff that I really like. So every time I’m going out to dinner or whatever, I try to put on something cool.”In a sport once defined by whites and restraint, self-expression is no longer a sideshow; it is part of the main event. The new generation is as comfortable fronting fashion campaigns as it is trading blows from the baseline, unafraid to let personality sit alongside performance.For the likes of Fils and his peers, style is not a distraction but a declaration. The forehand still does the talking, but increasingly, so does the fit.

A new controversy has sparked in Serbia involving one of its greatest ever icon, Novak Djokovic, and President Aleksandar Vucic, as the 24-time tennis Grand Slam winner was baselessly linked with Epstein files by a pro-government tabloid newspaper. The Kurir tabloid newspaper, which is known for its pro-Serbian Progressive Party and Vucic stands, has done a story on Djokovic’s name being present in the Epstein files.

The headline of the story reads: “NOVAK DJOKOVIC IN EPSTEIN’S FILES! Encrypted Message, Unknown Person and One detail that will remain an eternal mystery!”

Djokovic-Epstein files.story rocks Serbia

According to the news report, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein reacted to Novak Djokovic’s engagement to his now-wife Jelena by sending an email to an unknown recipient that read: “yikes.”

Interestingly, there’s nothing more linking Djokovic with Epstein, a former American financier and child sex offender, who died by suicide in custody. The USA government has recently released millions of documents, emails, videos and images that detail Epstein’s activities, and his connections with celebrities, businessmen and politicians.

A Serbian tabloid published a completely baseless article claiming that Novak Djokovic’s name is in the Epstein files. This is pure misinformation.

Novak deserves better than this.

I hope he considers suing. pic.twitter.com/xSIsMvSQU7

— Danny (@DjokovicFan_) February 19, 2026

However, there’s nothing to suggest Djokovic was involved with Epstein in any way. But Kurir’s attempt to link Djokovic with a convicted child sex offender is being seen as an attempt by a pro-Serbian government media to tarnish Djokovic’s image.

Djokovic vs Vucic continues

The relationship between Djokovic and Serbian President Vucic has deteriorated ever since the tennis star supported the protests against the politician in his country. The protest began after the collapse of a canopy at the Novi Sad railway station, which led to multiple deaths in 2024.

Djokovic, on multiple occasions, has supported the student protests through messages on social media, and was later also forced to leave the country due to a
smear campaign by the national media.

His family now lives in Athens, Greece, after shifting base from Belgrade. But the pro-Serbian government media is not ready to leave Djokovic alone.

Serbian fans criticise Kurir over linking Djokovic with Epstein

Djokovic’s fans in Serbia, however, are super angry about Kurir’s disparaging new piece on the tennis player, resulting in some strong reactions on social media.

“This time I have a message for the entire editorial team of Kurir: go fuck yourselves in your mothers’ cunts, what a bunch of shit you are,” a fan wrote on X while sharing the story.

Овом приликом имам да поручим целој редакцији курира да се носе у три пичке материне, каква сте ви говна pic.twitter.com/IqJx4GVYMT

— Немања (@NRad17) February 18, 2026

Another fan named Suzana Milicic wrote: “The text says that Epstein sent someone a link with news that Novak and Jelena got engaged and wrote “yikes” but Kurir has this headline.

“The sports editor at is named Miloš Bjelinić All people.”

U tekstu piše da je Epstin nekom poslao link sa vešću o tome da su se Novak i Jelena verili i da je napisao “yikes” ali Kurir ima ovaj naslov.

Urednik sporta na se zove Miloš Bjelinić
Sve ljudine pic.twitter.com/MVkOhf2Rqq

— Suzana Milicic (@SuzanaMilicic) February 19, 2026

Serbian President Vucic was also criticised by a fan on social media for trying to harm Djokovic’s reputation.

“Courier spat on Novak Djokovic. They wrote that he is in Epstein’s files. Such evil has never ruled in Serbia. This octopus led by the SNS is the greatest shame in our history,” an account by the name Špiro Seneka wrote on X.

Kurir je popljuvao Novaka Đokovića. Napisali da je u Epštajnovim fajlovima.

Ovakvo zlo u Srbiji nikada nije vladalo. Ova hobotnica predvođena SNS-om je najveća sramota u našoj istoriji.

— Špiro Seneka (@SenekaSpiro) February 18, 2026

While the ownership of Kurir media newspaper and television channel is not amply clear, it has been reported that it is now owned by the state telecom operator Telekom Srbija, firmly establishing it as a mouthpiece of the Serbian government.

Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland (AP Photo/Asanka Brendon Ratnayake)

DUBAI: Stan Wawrinka returns to a place of cherished memories this week, back at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis where he lifted the trophy in 2016. Now 40 and competing in the final season of a storied career that once saw him rise to a career-high No. 3 in the world, the Swiss great is embracing one last chapter on the Tour.

Excerpts:Stanimal captured the physical power of your game, do you think the mental strength behind your success was sometimes overlooked?That’s the beauty of tennis, it has many parts to it. It’s a big puzzle. You need to put every piece of the puzzle in its place — fitness, tennis, mentally, and also you need to be in the right place. It took a lot of hard work, a lot of energy to push and find myself as a player. It was important for me to work on myself, my mindset, and how I was going to go in with confidence, ready to beat the best players in the world. It took me years to achieve that. I’m really happy with what I’ve done. Was it tougher to break through in the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era than it is today in the Alcaraz-Sinner duopoly?Those five players you mentioned, and also Andy Murray are the best players we saw in the game. It has been amazing for me to face them, to be able to play against the Big Four for more than 15 years. It was a challenge. But first I’m a fan of tennis, I’m passionate about the game. I always enjoyed watching them, as a tennis fan and player. It was an opportunity for me to play the best players in the game. Right now we are seeing that the level of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz has been amazingly high. What they’ve been doing already for a few years, winning all the Grand Slams between them, is amazing to watch. Which of your three Grand Slam titles gave you the most satisfaction?It’s tough to choose, but it’s also my job to answer the question. If I have to pick one title… (exhales) they have all been really special, but one is the French Open (2015). I grew up playing on clay, I practised a lot in Spain, also coming from the French part of Switzerland, Roland Garros was the one that we watched the most as kids. That’s also the one I won as a junior (2003). To beat Novak in the final there was really special. Was retirement a sudden decision, or something that had been building in the months before your announcement?The last few years, I’ve been asking myself when to stop but I never had an answer. At the end of last year, I finally had the answer. I realised that I was most at peace to play for one more year, to push one last time. I’m still passionate about the game, I wish I could play forever, but nobody can play forever. I also wanted to finish my 20-plus year career on a good note. So I’m happy that my level is still there and physically I’m feeling good. You appear leaner now than at your peak? I always try to push myself to be the best player I can to be. You have to do that to be able to stay in the game for 20 years. It was challenging, fitness wise, especially with the injuries. I have always been trying to optimise, to do what’s best for me, what’s best for my body so that I could push my own limits. You were known for those statement shorts and now, in your final year, you’re making a statement with this 40-Love tee…Last year I turned 40, so Yonex did this for me as a present. The ‘Love’ stands for my love of the game, my passion.