Jannik Sinner Breaks Silence on Elbow Sleeve That Sparked Injury Concerns in Cincinnati

First seed Jannik Sinner will be bidding to capture his third title of the season at the Cincinnati Masters.

Jannik Sinner Breaks Silence on Elbow Sleeve That Sparked Injury Concerns in Cincinnati

Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

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Jannik Sinner will finally be back in action after a little more than a month. Cincinnati Masters, the second Masters 1000 of the North American hard-court swing, will kick off on August 7, and Sinner will start his title defense against Vit Kopriva or a qualifier in the second round.

During his practice session, the Italian ace was seen wearing a sleeve, and this sparked injury concerns. At Wimbledon, he had sleeved his elbow after suffering an injury during his fourth-round clash with Grigor Dimitrov. But despite that setback, Sinner continued his winning ways: he knocked out Ben Shelton and Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, before emerging victorious against Carlos Alcaraz after four tough sets in the final.

In the pre-tournament press conference in Cincinnati, the World No.1 dismissed any concerns for injury, stating that he wore the sleeve simply because he liked the feeling of it.

The elbow is good. Today was the first time that I put a sleeve on because I liked the feeling of the sleeve. It gives a little bit more impact with the ball, it’s slightly more stable. That’s my point of view, and I liked it at Wimbledon. I have to see how it is when it’s very hot and humid, because it’s a little bit different, so it’s going to be something that I’m going to take into consideration.

Last year, Sinner lifted the Cincinnati title by beating Frances Tiafoe. He continued his winning ways at the US Open, ending the tournament in his favor, defeating Taylor Fritz in the final without breaking a sweat.

Jannik Sinner on why his Wimbledon win was special

In the Wimbledon final, Jannik Sinner beat the same opponent against whom he was on the verge of winning at Roland Garros, as he had a 2-0 lead and also had three championship points in the fourth set. But Carlos Alcaraz held his nerves and saved those three points before eventually he defended his Roland Garros crown with a five-set win, with the match lasting for five hours and 29 minutes (the longest French Open final in the history of tennis).

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (via X/The Tennis Letter)

In the Wimbledon final, the Spaniard took a one-set lead, but Sinner bounced back to claim the next two. In the fourth set once again, Sinner had three championship points. But this time, he squandered just once, and when he served for the fifth time, Alcaraz failed to return it.

This one was very different also because what I had the Grand Slam before, what happened there, and coming back and showing this kind of level, also at times, surprised me too. I’m very obviously very happy. I took some time off, seeing my family, friends, and very important people. And after that, I got back to training, trying to be as ready as possible for this swing, which is very important too.

Jannik Sinner said at the press conference

Sinner improved his head-to-head record over the five-time Grand Slam champion to 5-8. It was also his first win over the World No.2 after five consecutive defeats. Before Wimbledon and the French Open, Sinner suffered a straight-set defeat to Alcaraz in the Italian Open final.

The Italian Open was his first tournament since his three-month doping ban. So far this season, the 23-year-old has captured two titles- both Grand Slam ones- at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon. The Murcia native has five titles to his name this season- the Rotterdam Open, Monte Carlo Masters, Italian Open, French Open, and the Queen’s Club Championships. Apart from these trophies and the Wimbledon final, he also reached the summit clash of the Barcelona Open.

Also read: Ben Shelton Reveals He’s “Comfortable” About His Evolution Following His Quarter-Finals Win Over Alex de Minaur in Toronto