The ‘extraordinary’ decision Jannik Sinner made immediately after winning his third-round match in Cincinnati is praised

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Jannik Sinner has made a strong start in Cincinnati, as he looks to win his second hard-court title of the year.

Kicking off his season in Melbourne, Sinner won the Australian Open title, defeating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6, 6-3 in the final.

He was, however, unable to compete at the subsequent hard-court events, as Sinner received a three-month suspension from tennis.

Returning to his favored surface in Cincinnati, Sinner defeated Colombia’s Daniel Galan 6-1, 6-1 in his opening match.

Moving on to round three, Sinner took down Gabriel Diallo in straight sets to book his place in the last 16.

While most players would be satisfied with the win, Sinner was disappointed with his performance, as he made a decision immediately after his third-round match, which has now been praised.

Paolo Bertolucci praises ‘obsessively meticulous’ Jannik Sinner for training after his third-round win

Sinner struggled with his serve throughout his third-round match with Diallo, hitting a season-high (for a best-of-three-set match) five double faults.

Reacting to Sinner’s poor serving performance, Paolo Bertolucci shared his thoughts, writing for La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“[Jannik] Sinner found himself facing a player with completely different characteristics than [Daniel] Galan, whom he had beaten in the previous round, and capable of creating problems for him in interpreting the match,” he said.

“The Canadian, equipped with a very powerful serve and therefore lightning-fast opening shots, never gets you into a rhythm, as Jannik likes, and like any great server, he forces you to push your service games, because conceding a break often means having to give up the set.

“For this reason, Jannik’s serve wasn’t as incisive on the occasion, and even from the baseline, unable to spin his web of constant acceleration—especially in the second set—he made a few too many errors.”

Disappointed with his serving efforts against Diallo, Sinner immediately headed over to the practice courts to work on the shot after the match.

Bertolucci was impressed by Sinner’s decision, suggesting it spoke to the Italian’s ‘obsessive meticulousness’.

“Tiny flaws, of which Sinner was fully aware, so much so that he requested a practice session immediately after the match to work on the details he didn’t like,” he said.

“This demonstrated, once again, Jannik’s almost obsessive meticulousness, his extraordinary application that helped him carve a gap with the rest of the competition

“Recent history tells us of many similar examples, from [Rafael] Nadal to [Novak] Djokovic, who immediately sought solutions to problems that arose during matches.”

Sinner will no doubt hope that the practice pays off when he returns for his fourth-round match against Adrian Mannarino on Wednesday, August 14.

Jannik Sinner’s route to the Cincinnati Open title

The world number one is four wins away from picking up the trophy in Cincinnati, but who is he most likely to play en route to the title?

• 4R – Adrian Mannarino
• QF – [23] Felix Auger-Aliassime
• SF – [4] Taylor Fritz
• F – [2] Carlos Alcaraz

Sinner will likely be the favorite to beat anyone other than Carlos Alcaraz in Cincinnati, although his potential quarterfinal opponent could well cause him a few issues.

The Italian has failed on his two previous attempts to beat Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, losing to him at the 2022 Madrid Open and the 2022 Cincinnati Open.

The 25-year-old hasn’t had his best year in 2025, but has still picked up two tour-level titles and is one of just eight players to have done so.

Sinner won’t want to overlook Auger-Aliassime, nor should he overlook Taylor Fritz, a potential semifinal opponent, but he will surely have one eye on the final.

Alcaraz and Sinner have played each other in two Grand Slam finals this year, sharing one win apiece.

• 2025 French Open F – Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner
• 2025 Wimbledon F – Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz

The possibility of a third ‘big’ final between the pair in Cincinnati has fans on the edge of their seats, as Alcaraz and Sinner’s rivalry never fails to entertain.