Alex Michelsen thinks he has an advantage over Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner will make his debut at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 today. The world number 1 is hoping for a good result in Ohio after the early elimination in Montreal last week, and wants to play as many matches as possible with a view to the US Open.

The last Grand Slam of the season will take place in New York at the end of August and promises to be a spectacle. After a great start in 2024, the young Italian has had more difficulty in maintaining the same level in the last two months (also due to some physical problems).

The 2024 Australian Open winner was unable to play at the Olympic Games in Paris due to tonsillitis, which kept him out of training for about a week. Despite recent difficulties, Sinner is having a great season, winning his first Grand Slam in Melbourne and his second Masters 1000 (in Miami).

Sinner shines in 2024

Jannik’s big goal is to maintain the first position on the ATP rankings until the end of the season, but he will have to be careful Novak Djokovic and especially Carlos AlcarazThe Italian has a chance to score points this week in Ohio, having been knocked out in the second round last year.

On Monday, August 12, Jannik Sinner updated his most important record, never before registered by another Italian tennis player in history. It is of course the weeks he spent at the top of the ATP world ranking, a privilege that other Italian tennis players in the Open Era have not had, and not only. With the new updated ranking, we have risen to 10 weeks with the Italian ace at the top of the rankings.

A feat that allowed him to officially pass the Russian Marat Safin, who was at 9 during his career: the Italian ace had already left, also John Newcombe and Juan Carlos Ferrero at 8, Thomas Muster, Marcelo Rios and Yevgeny Kafelnikov at 6, Carlos Moyá (2) and Patrick Rafter (1). The 22-year-old from San Candido is thus in 21st place among tennis players with more weeks as number one in the world and now has all the players in double figures ahead of him. The next champions in sight are Boris Becker with 12 and Andy Roddick, who reached 13.

A goal within reach of the class of 2001, precisely because it is certain that they will remain at the top of the rankings, at least until the US Open. Carlos Alcaraz, the biggest rival at the moment given the many points that Novak Djokovic (winner in Cincinnati and will not participate; triumph last year in New York) has to defend, will not be able to beat him, not even if he wins the tournament in Ohio. Everything is postponed until Flushing Meadows, where the Spaniard will have the chance to stand behind the Italian star. The goal of both is to end the season as number one and the final phase on indoor and outdoor concrete will be decisive to understand the first and second places in the rankings at the end of the year.

Michelsen Warns Sinner

Jannik Sinner takes on the young American Alex Michelsen in the second round of the Cincinnati Masters 1000. Speaking to the ATP website, the young American spoke candidly about his encounter with the world number 1: “I’m going to go for it and give it my best every chance I get. I will never give upand I am proud to be able to participate.

The level he reached in the fifth set of his first Grand Slam final was pretty epic. This match is going to be a lot of fun and I have nothing to lose. I go out and try my best to play with freedom and have funand we’ll see what happens. I played Zverev when he was number six in the world rankings, and now I’m facing the number one. I’ve never played a top 5 player before, so it’s going to be a new experience, that’s for sure.”

He added: “Jannik has never seen my ball, and I’m sure I know a lot more about him than he knows about me. So I think that will help me too. I don’t think his game has changed much. I think he’s gotten a lot stronger, faster, and in better shape, but for me I don’t think his game has changed much. I think he’s improved a few things. His serve has gotten better, and maybe his forehand has gotten a little bit better, but the way he plays remains the same.”

Alex has a great talent, but Sinner will clearly be preferred.