Jannik Sinner overcomes 'difficult week' with Cincinnati crown

August 20, 2024

ATP Tennis Players, Jannik Sinner, Tennis News, Tennis Tournaments

Jannik Sinner overcomes ‘difficult week’ with Cincinnati Masters crown

Jannik Sinner is a Masters 1000 champion once again, this time after beating home favourite Frances Tiafoe in the Cincinnati Open final.

Sinner beat the American, 7-6(4) 6-2, to lift his third Masters 1000 title that have all come on hard courts.

The Italian actually had a poor record in Cincinnati prior to this year, having never gone passed the third round in his three previous appearances.

Despite his emphatic victory in the final, there have still been many questions surrounding Sinner’s fitness due to an ongoing hip injury.

Sinner played this down after beating Alexander Zverev in the semi-final, but admitted that it has been a challenging week in Cincinnati after his title victory, “It was a very difficult week, tough week. I’m very happy about today’s match. It was very tough mentally.

“Had such an amazing run here, and I tried to do my best today. We both were quite tired from yesterday. We both felt a lot of tension, but I’m very glad about [the] level I played today, especially in the important moments.”

The World No.1 has now extended his lead at the top of the ATP rankings to 2,300 points over Novak Djokovic, with Sinner now looking ahead to the US Open.

”Now, for sure, it’s important to recover, to be to be ready for New York. This is our main goal here for this US swing,” explained Sinner. “I’m very happy to be in a position where I am and just trying to keep going mentally, having this hunger to keep playing, and hopefully I can show some good tennis [in] New York.”

3 – Jannik Sinner has won a third ATP Masters 1000 title on hard court. In the past decade, only three players have won more Masters titles on the surface – Novak Djokovic (17), Roger Federer (7) and Daniil Medvedev (5). Home.
#CincyTennis | @CincyTennis @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/wgpq4U2N4z
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 19, 2024

The US Open main draw gets underway next week on Monday 26th August, with Sinner looking to improve on his previous best result of reaching the quarter-finals back in 2022.

Inside the baseline…

Like for women’s singles champion Aryna Sabalenka, this felt like a very needed week for Jannik Sinner. The Italian has had a phenomenal 2024 season and has been by far the best player, particularly on hard courts, but the last couple of months have been more challenging for Sinner with injury and illness troubling him. Sinner is probably the favourite for the US Open title, but it will be interesting to see how his hip holds up after playing five set tennis again, especially with the looming threats of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner and his run to the Cincinnati Open title

The Cincinnati Masters was Sinner’s fifth final and title of the year, as he now becomes the first Italian in history to win the singles crown at the event.

And here is how he did it:

First Round – Received a bye as the top seed

Second Round – Beat Alex Michelsen, 6-4 7-5

Third Round – Received a walkover after Jordan Thompson withdrew

Quarter-final – Beat Andrey Rublev (6), 4-6 7-5 6-4

Semi-final – Beat Alexander Zverev (3), 7-6(9) 5-7 7-6(4)

Final – Beat Frances Tiafoe, 7-6(4) 6-2