Jannik Sinner won his opening match in straight sets against teenager Alex Michelsen.
Bouncing back from a hip-injury scare and a quarter-final exit in Montreal, Jannik Sinner started off his campaign in Cincinnati far more positively.
The world number one saved all eight break points against him in a 6-4, 7-5 victory against rising American star Alex Michelsen on the centre court.
Michelsen previously discussed how he might beat Sinner, but despite his best efforts, couldn’t quite win the big points.
Sinner has now improved to 25-2 on hard courts this season and will next meet Jordan Thompson for a spot in the last eight.
The 22-year-old has reached the quarter-final stage at all five of the previous Masters 1000 events he has played this season with a notable win in Miami coming last March.
However, with his unexpected exit to Dusan Lajovic 12 months ago, the Italian has admitted there are still various things she finds challenging in Cincinnati.
Jannik Sinner explains how the Cincinnati conditions have proven problematic
Sinner has looked slightly out of sorts recently with illness keeping him out of the Paris Olympics.
Still looking less than 100%, Sinner revealed his plans to remain the world number one ahead of his opening round in Cincinnati.
“I would say it’s due to the general tournament conditions, although this year I’ve felt that everything is a bit different,” he explained in his press conference reported by Ubitennis.
“The court is a bit faster. Last year, on the other hand, the ball bounced more. These things can change very quickly. It also depends on whether you play during the day or at night.
“In general, I think today was a good test for me, also mentally. I tried to stay calm, especially in the most critical moments of the match, so it was a positive day in that respect.”
Historically having seriously struggled here, it’s also not set Sinner up for success at the US Open, with the Italian having only reached the quarter-finals in New York – his worst result of all the four majors.
Will this be Jannik Sinner’s year at the US Open?
The short answer I suspect might be no, with the Italian looking well below his best.
Despite Sinner’s recent fitness update, the Italian is battling through matches he probably should be coming through more comfortably.
A number of early US Open frontrunners on both the men’s and women’s sides are also struggling.
Daniil Medvedev’s two early exits at Montreal and Cincinnati have left many pondering if he can match his run to the US Open final last year.
With Sinner’s next match a real test, it’ll likely be a real tell of what’s to come.
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