ATP Pro Brushes Off Health Concerns for Jannik Sinner and Picks Him as US Open Favorite

First seed Jannik Sinner will start his campaign at the US Open against an unseeded Vit Kopriva.

ATP Pro Brushes Off Health Concerns for Jannik Sinner and Picks Him as US Open Favorite

Jannik Sinner (Image via X/Jannik Sinner HQ)

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Jannik Sinner suffered from flu a day before his match against Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Masters final. Sinner thought he would recover a bit before the match and chose to play, but he couldn’t continue.

When he was down 0-5 in the first set, he deemed it best to hand the walkover to the Spaniard. Sinner has already started his practice session for the US Open, the main draw of which is scheduled to start on August 24th.

The illness at first was a cause of concern as some thought that if he failed to recover completely before the US Open, it could affect his campaign. Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis, however, is not at all worried about Sinner, and he thinks the World No.1 would end the tournament in his favor. He said on Australian Open TV:

For me, when I was on Tour, it was always Washington, Cincinnati, and New York that are the places that are the hardest to play. Australia gets hot, but it’s a bit drier, unless you go to Brisbane, which is a bit more humid. But the North American swing takes the gas out of you for some reason a lot more. I think Carlos got the dream draw in the semis and final to breeze through that, but I think Sinner will recharge, and he will be back to 100%. I would say he’s still the favourite for the US Open if he’s healthy.

It was home favorite Taylor Fritz whom the four-time Grand Slam champion defeated in straight sets in the US Open final last year. If Sinner wins, it will be his third Grand Slam title of the season after his victory at the Australian Open (beat Alexander Zverev) and at Wimbledon (beat Alcaraz).

If Sinner makes the final, it would be his fourth one of the season, as he also played the championship clash of the French Open, only to squander a 2-0 lead and three match points against Alcaraz.

Coach Simone Vagnozzi on Jannik Sinner’s sickness

Jannik Sinner‘s coach, Simone Vagnozzi, has admitted that the hot weather was making his campaign in Cincinnati more difficult. Not just Sinner, several players have complained about the scorching heat, which made players’ stay on the courts unbearable, so much so that Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech collapsed on the court and was forced to hand the walkover to Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round.

Jannik Sinner Cincinnati Open
Jannik Sinner (image via Instagram/Jannik Sinner)

We are very happy, because Sinner needed two days of rest after Cincinnati. It has been a difficult two weeks. It’s so hot there. The humidity is high, and with a virus, it has been very difficult. We are satisfied with his performance in training.

Simone Vagnozzi told Corriere dello Sport

Sinner was bidding to defend a Masters 1000 title for the first time. Had he won it, he would have become the first man since Roger Federer (2014-2015) to defend the Cincinnati title. Last year in the tournament, he beat home favorite Frances Tiafoe. If the 24-year-old wins the US Open, he will become the first man since the 20-time Grand Slam champion to defend the title. Federer lifted five consecutive titles from 2004 to 2008.

At Flushing Meadows, Sinner will also be chasing his third title of the season. He has so far played five finals this season, and in three of these matches, he was pitted against Carlos Alcaraz. The only tournament where he failed to reach the summit clash was at the Halle Open, where eventual champion Alexander Bublik knocked him out in the second round. It was also the first tournament since the 2024 Canadian Open where Sinner couldn’t progress to the summit clash.

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