Defending US Open champion Jannik Sinner made light work of his opponent Vít Kopřiva, winning the first-round match at Arthur Ashe Stadium 6-1, 6-1, 6-2. With 48 service points won and seven aces, the world No. 1 was ruthless against his opponent from the Czech Republic.
“I feel that I am in good physical shape. There have been some good practice sessions, it was a good first-round match, and let’s see what comes next,” Sinner said while addressing the media in his post-match press conference.
Sinner prefers to play in as many tournaments as he can, including exhibition tournaments like the Laver Cup, the Six Kings Slam, among others.
“It depends on what shape I am in and what my goal is. I always like to play or to be ready for tournaments. I want to be ready, but sometimes it is not the right time or the right schedule. So, I have never played many exhibitions, and there is always a reason behind it,” Sinner explained.
Sinner’s match against Carlos Alcaraz in the 2022 US Open quarterfinals is widely regarded as the birth of their rivalry. Sinner had a head-to-head record of 2-1 against Alcaraz before the match but lost a five-set thriller that lasted over five hours. Alcaraz took the first set before Sinner won the second and third sets in tiebreaks. Alcaraz went on to save a match point in the fourth set before clinching the victory in the fifth set.
“Three years ago, I felt we were just starting to understand each other's game, and we didn’t know what the future held. It’s similar now. When we were younger, it was a match where we would just go on the court and hit, but now I feel we have to prepare tactically, emotionally, and mentally. Over the last three years, we have faced each other many times, and every single match has been tactically different. We've certainly made adjustments, and that specific match was important to see, even though we were still so young,” Sinner reminisced about his rivalry with Alcaraz.
When asked about his improved movement and ball-striking abilities, Sinner replied, “If you want to hit the ball well, you have to get into position with good movement. The better you move, the better you hit the ball. The key is also to be a clean hitter. And I can say that I'm a clean hitter, but I'm also trying to move in the best possible way on both sides. You have to move using both an open and closed stance and go through the ball with your entire body. So, it's a combination.”
Jannik Sinner dropped just two sets in his 2024 US Open run: the first to Mackenzie McDonald in the first round and the second to Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals. However, it was his encounter against Tommy Paul in the Round of 16 that proved to be the most challenging. Sinner won the first two sets in tiebreakers before clinching the third set 6-1.
“Last year, I had some matches where I didn't start them as I wanted to. If you remember the match against Tommy Paul, I was down a double break, and then I recovered and felt better. So, sometimes it takes a little more time to get used to the conditions. It can happen if I play at night because I'm not used to the conditions yet. So, every day can be different; I remember then, from one day to the next, I felt great. So, let's see what happens this time,” Sinner recalled.
Jannik Sinner will next take on Alexei Popyrin in the US Open second round. The world No. 36 from Australia defeated Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 in the first round.
