Jannik Sinner had tennis fans pretty worried after what happened in Cincinnati. The world’s top-ranked player had to quit his final against Carlos Alcaraz after just 20 minutes on court.
That was supposed to be an epic showdown between two of tennis’s biggest stars.
Instead, Sinner walked off looking sick and didn’t pick up a racket again until Thursday. With the US Open starting, everyone’s been wondering if he’s actually ready to play.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jannik Sinner | 24 | 15,405 | 33 - 3 |
The good news? Sinner says he’s feeling much better.
Recovery Mode
"First, I’m very happy to be back here," Sinner told reporters before his first match. "It’s a great tournament, it’s obviously the last Grand Slam we have. The motivations are very high."
The 23-year-old Italian was pretty straightforward about his condition. He’s not quite at 100% yet, but he’s getting there.
"Physically, I feel good. I have recovered mostly, not at 100% yet, but we are aiming to be there in a couple of days, so it should be all fine for the tournament."
When reporters pressed him for details about what exactly happened in Cincinnati, Sinner kept it simple. No dramatic recovery story here.
"Nothing. It was a virus that some other players also had. Just sleeping and recovering, nothing crazy."
Turns out he wasn’t the only one dealing with whatever bug was going around the tennis tour.
Easy First Round
Sinner’s opening opponent is Vit Kopriva from the Czech Republic. This isn’t exactly a scary matchup for the world No. 1.
Kopriva has only played in four Grand Slam tournaments before this one. He’s never made it past the second round.
For Sinner, this should be a pretty comfortable way to ease back into competitive tennis after his health scare.
The real tests will come later. He could face Jack Draper in the quarterfinals and Alexander Zverev in the semis if the seedings hold up.
Defending Champion Energy
Here’s the thing about Sinner right now – he’s been absolutely dominant on hard courts. We’re talking about a guy who’s won the last three hard-court Grand Slams.
That’s the Australian Open and US Open this year, plus the Australian Open before that.
When you’re on that kind of roll, a little virus probably doesn’t shake your confidence too much.
"I feel different than last year. Last year was a much more stressful situation, it was difficult to handle everything. I’m still young."
Last year at the US Open, Sinner was dealing with a doping controversy that had just become public. The pressure was intense, and you could see it affecting his game at times.
This year feels different for him.
"We are focusing on the hard work again, and trying to get better as an athlete at the moment."
End of Season Pressure
The US Open always has a unique feel to it. It’s the last major of the year, so there’s this final chance energy floating around.
Some players are exhausted by September. Others are desperate to salvage their season with one big result.
Sinner knows the conditions at Flushing Meadows can be tricky too.
"It also the last big trophy of the year, and I feel like here, the conditions can change a lot if you play during a day or during the night, and there are many small things that make this Grand Slam different."
Day sessions can be brutally hot and humid. Night sessions are cooler but the balls play differently under the lights.
For a player coming back from illness, those kinds of variables matter more than usual.
But if anyone can handle it, it’s probably the guy who’s made hard-court tennis look pretty easy lately.
