Jannik Sinner is yet to return to the practice court following his retirement from the Cincinnati Open final, but his coach Darren Cahill has offered a positive update ahead of his US Open title defence.
Playing in the first tournament since winning the Wimbledon trophy in July, Sinner won five consecutive matches in straight sets to secure a final showdown with Carlos Alcaraz at the ATP Masters 1000 event.
Many were hoping for another epic encounter between the pair following their high-quality clashes in the French Open and Wimbledon finals, but the match never got going as the Italian struggled as soon as the match got underway.
The world No 1 was broken to love in the first game and that was the theme for the remainder of the shorter match as he retired after 23 minutes while he was trailing 0-5.
Sinner issues a statement after the match stating: “Didn’t feel great from yesterday. Also during the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. And I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give a match.
“That’s the reason why I went on the court, but it was not meant to be for me today. So, you know, it happens. And, but another way, I don’t want to take anything away from Carlos. He had a great week, great, great tournament again. And now the main focus, obviously, is for the US Open. And yeah, now recovery is the most important. And then we see.”
The four-time Grand Slam winner was due to take part in the revamped US Open mixed doubles event alongside Katerina Siniakova, but he withdrew from the event, raising concerns over his participating in the singles event.
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With the Cincinnati final taking place on Monday and the US Open main draw getting underway on Sunday, the preparation time for the season-ending Grand Slam is limited.
Cahill has confirmed that the 24-year-old was struck down by a virus, but believes he will “be fine” for the New York major.
“Jannik suffered from a virus that forced him to retire against Alcaraz on Monday,” the Australian said during an ESPN broadcast.
“I spoke with him briefly last night. He’s feeling a bit better now, he will rest today [Wednesday], that is the plan and hopefully Thursday he can get out on the court and start hitting some balls. We are confident he’s going to be fine.”
It is not the first time that Sinner has struggled physically, as he also became wary during the latter stages of his five-set marathon against Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final, raising questions over his fitness.
Italian tennis commentator Guido Monaco commented about his fitness after the Cincinnati Open.
“Even in Miami against [Daniil] Medvedev, he [Sinner] arrived with a fever, playing an anonymous match. Even at Wimbledon last year, even if there was something else involved, the physical sensation was the same, obviously for different reasons. I have a common thread. The show was what it was,” he said.
“Sinner might be more fragile than others and suffer more in certain conditions. I’m fine with that, it makes him more human.”
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