The Italian Jannik Sinnernumber one in the world, he advanced this Saturday at the round of 16 of the US Open, the last Grand Slam of the season, in which he defends the title and in which his compatriot was also installed in that instance Lorenzo Musetti for the first time in his career.
Sinner bent 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 and 6-3 to the Canadian Denis Shapovalov (29), with whom he battled for three hours and 12 minutes to achieve his first victory against that rival, who had surpassed him in the only previous confrontation when they collided in The 2021 Australian Opentournament in which the Italian celebrated the first of his five Grand Slam titles in 2024. Award he repeated this season, in which he also conquered the crown for the first time in Wimbledon.
The male ranking leader raised his record in “Major” tournaments to 24 wins against just a defeatthe one that suffered in the final electrifying that lost this year against Spanish Carlos Alcaraz (2nd) in Roland Garros and has been without setbacks for almost two years in a Grand Slam played on fast courts, since it stumbled upon the German Alexander Zverev (3rd) In the fourth round of the US Open of 2023, remember the ATP page.
Shapovalov did not make it easy this afternoon and forced him to give up his first set in the tournament, in addition to putting the Italian in the third partial, in which he became up for a 3-0 score that forced Sinner to light The best of your tennis To conquer the passage to the second week of the US Open, where he finally celebrated his Twenty triumph against only five losses.
The next Italian stumbling Alexander Bublik (23), his “executioner” this year at the ATP 500 Halle already who surpassed in four of the six clashes they encouraged, and the American Tommy Paul (14), whom he defeated in four of the five previous clashes, including the one that won precisely in the round of 16 of this tournament last year.
“I am happy to have been able to win this difficult game and The public helped me a lot”, He acknowledged Sinner at the close of his first week at the US Open,“ a great week, ”said the Italian.
“Now I begin to think about the next one, which will also be hard in any case. I feel closely linked to this tournament and also to New York City,” he said.
Hours before, he referred to the rivalry with Carlos Alcaraz. And the hypothesis that everyone wants: that they meet in a final. “He is a great favorite In each tournament in which he plays because he has many solutions and styles with which to face and solve problems, “he warns.
And goes further, between admiration and respect: “I feel he is a complete player, obviously. We have seen it on many occasions, winning Roland Garros, Wimbledon and here. That shows that He knows how to play on each surface. ”
