US Open – Jannik Sinner now has a big chance

After the premature eliminations of Carlos Alcaraz (in round 2) and Novak Djokovic (in round 3), Jannik Sinner became the top favorite for victory over the US Open 2024Although he is not delivering his best tennis performances, also due to the events off the court, the world number 1 seems to have the right mental strength to win the second Major of his still young career (after the 2024 Australian Open).

The 23-year-old from San Candido did not shine in the first two rounds in New York, he defeated the Americans McDonald and Michelsen without taking too many risks. The Italian champion will face the Australian Christopher O’Connell today for a place in the round of 16 (already reached in 2021 and 2023).

Jannik can boast a quarter-final in 2022 as his best result at Flushing Meadows and will try to do better this year. After winning the Olympic Games in Paris Due to tonsillitis, the 2024 Australian Open winner was able to play several matches on the hard courts in Montreal and Cincinnati in order to regain his best feeling.

The Italian ace has a great chance

Sinner won the Cincinnati Masters 1000 – the second 1000 in 2024 after Miami – but the following day the verdict in his doping case came. The Italian was declared innocent by ITIAbut that affair has caused the world number 1 a lot of stress in recent months.

The Italian champion will have to handle the pressure well and he will have to step up a level if he wants to win this edition of the US Open, a tournament that suits his playing style very well. The main opponents in his draw event should be Tommy Paul and especially Daniel Medvedev – champion in New York in 2021 – who defeated Sinner in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon Championships.

Despite his extraordinary results, the last few months have been very complicated for the 23-year-old Italian. “Besides realizing who my real friends are, I would say that all of this will allow me to grow as a person. It made me understand how important life is outside of tennis, because our routine is to hit a ball and go to the gym. Then you see people who are sick, and you realize that the most important thing in life is to be surrounded by good people and be healthy. I will never stop fighting on the court; tennis is the key for me and has shaped me as a person. I hope that this whole period will help me in the future at all levels,” he said at the press conference after the second round.

Sinner has raised his level against Michelsen compared to his first round match: “I noticed an improvement in my tennis game compared to the first round. A day of training has helped me a lot, and I will continue to work hard to understand the best possible way to compete on these courts.”

Sinner focuses on tennis

The world number 1 informed ITIA that his infection was entirely coincidental and ITIA immediately lifted his provisional suspension. Some tennis players and experts have alleged that Jannik received preferential treatment during this process.

In conversation with Sky Italy, former ATP ace Ivan Ljubic defended the Italian champion: “This makes us realize how strong he is mentally. I can’t know what it’s like to live with this information inside you for months. He still managed to be competitive, he always played very well, won important tournaments like Cincinnati a week ago.

Now he will definitely feel lighter, he will feel like he has taken a big stone out of his shoes and will finally be able to concentrate on tennis and try to play well at the US Open that he has not won yet. We remember here some of his spectacular matches, against Carlos Alcaraz and everything. I think that mentally he feels much better now; physically, we saw him in Cincinnati, he is quite good.”

He added: “I think the whole tennis world has now understood what happened. Few people think that Jannik actually tried something forbidden. From what I read and hear, the only thing is that so many of our colleagues are a little surprised about the process that Jannik went through and that no one before him has gone through.

When we talk about the physiotherapist himself, no one blames him for doing anything wrong. So many others, after the mistake of Sinners team, will try to be even more careful with all the products that you take, that you use, because WADA is getting more and more aggressive in the fight against doping.” The 2024 Australian Open champion is currently focusing on tennis.