Tag: Jannik Sinner

World number one Jannik Sinner on Monday lifted his third ATP Masters trophy as the world number one beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to win the Cincinnati Open.

The Italian top seed warmed up for next week’s US Open in style, biding his time in a hard-fought first set before breaking the match open in the second.

Tiafoe, whose game faded after losing the first-set tiebreaker, still made an impression.

The American, who moves into the ranking top-20, saved three match points before Sinner claimed his 15th career title.

Cincinnati is the fifth trophy of 2024 for the 23-year-old Italian, who began the season with an Australian Open crown in Melbourne.

“I’m happy, this was a very difficult week,” Sinner said. “It was tough mentally but I tried to do my best.

“Frances and I were both tired from the (Sunday) semi-finals and there was a lot of tension.

“I’m just glad I kept my level in the important moments. I handled the situations on court well.

“There were many ups and downs, but that’s normal. At the big moments of each match I played well.”

Jannik Sinner heads to the August 26 start of the US Open as a major favourite, standing more than 2,000 points clear of world number two Novak Djokovic.

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“I’m confident, but it’s important to be able to recover to be ready for New York,” the Italian said afterwards.

“That is the main goal of this US Open swing. “I’m happy to be in the position I’m in. I have the hunger to keep playing. I hope to show good tennis in New York.”

Against Tiafoe, Sinner hit 29 winners, including 13 aces and broke the American twice from eight attempts.

“I’m really tired,” Tiafoe told Sinner at the net afterwards. “I’m not used to playing so many matches like you big guys. Well-played.”

The pair duelled for nearly an hour in the opening set, with the Italian making 10 aces on the way into a tiebreaker.

One crack in Tiafoe’s defence was enough to hand Sinner two set-point chances, with the first converted by the top seed for the early lead.

Frances Tiafoe dropped serve to start the second as his reserves began to run dry, Sinner achieved a double break in a fifth game lasting for more than 10 minutes with seven deuces.

With a 4-1 lead, the Italian still had to fight, with Tiafoe saving three match points to climb to 5-2 before the top seed completed his work a game later.

Jannik Sinner is the youngest champion here since Andy Murray in 2008.

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Jannik Sinner will test his form after a month of illness which culminated in the bronchitis that forced him to skip the Paris Olympics.

The Italian world number one takes to the court to defend the Masters title he won a year ago in Montreal.

Sinner was forced to bypass Paris after focusing his season on the Olympics date, but he will be back in action in the second round here after a bye.

“It has been a little while since my last match, since Wimbledon,” Sinner said on a rainy Monday that wiped out qualifying rounds for the tournament, which starts on Tuesday due to the Olympics.

“I’m very excited to be here. Hopefully I can show some good tennis.”

Sinner last competed on July 9, managing to go five sets in the Wimbledon quarter-finals before losing to Daniil Medvedev.

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The top seed was treated on the court for fatigue and had his vital signs measured before soldiering on to defeat.

Jannik Sinner said he feels ready to get started again: “The body feels good. I got here early to cure the jetlag.

“The first practices were easy but now we’re working harder.”

Sinner should get a confident start on what he calls his favourite surface.

“Hardcourt is my favourite but every situation is different. The ball is flying here quite a lot, you have to feel the ball a bit more. You have to play with a good mindset.”

Sinner heads the Montreal field ahead of 2021 Olympic champion Alexander Zverev and third-seeded Daniil Medvedev.

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Men’s tennis number one Jannik Sinner withdrew from the Paris Olympics on Wednesday, days before it begins, after falling ill with tonsillitis.

The Italian said he was “sad and disappointed” to drop out, adding that he had started feeling unwell on Monday after a practice week in Monaco.

“After seeing my doctors on Tuesday and waiting an extra day to give myself some more time to see if my condition would improve, things unfortunately got worse,” Sinner, 22, said in a statement.

“I was looking forward to competing with my teammates and the rest of the Italian team, but for now that will have to wait.

“As advised by my medical team, I will now take some time to rest and recover to full health. I’d like to wish the whole team Italia the best for this important event and hope to be back stronger in the future.”

Sinner said the Olympics had been “one of my main goals for this season” and was due to play in the men’s singles and the doubles with Lorenzo Musetti.

Wimbledon semi-finalist Musetti will now have to play in the men’s doubles tournament with either Luciano Darderi or Matteo Arnaldi.

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Italian media reported that Andrea Vavassori ranked 207 in the world, will replace Jannik Sinner in the men’s singles. Sinner dropping out deprives Italy of a great shot at a medal.

He has long been the great hope of Italian tennis and after finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals in November last year, he has moved up a level.

Sinner won his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open at the start of this year and then became the first Italian to top the world rankings after his recent run to the semi-finals at the French Open.

He has also won three other tournaments this year, including his second Masters 1000 crown in Miami.

Sinner withdrew from the Madrid Open before the quarter-finals with a hip injury and missed the tournament in Rome in the run-up to Roland Garros, where the Olympic tennis will be played between July 27 and August 4.

He needed a lengthy medical timeout after feeling dizzy and appearing to almost lose his balance during his quarter-final defeat to Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon.

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