Jannik Sinner survived a round-one scare against Daniel Altmaier on Louis Armstrong Stadium. Sinner outlasted the German 5-7 6-2 6-1 3-6 6-1 in three hours and 35 minutes, using 51 winners to break through Altmaier. It was a positive sign of resilience from the #11 seed who is looking to back up his run to the fourth round at the 2021 US Open.
When looking towards next-gen players on the ATP Tour, Sinner seems to be mightily overshadowed by Carlos Alcaraz. This is no fault of either player or even the fans/media as Alcaraz is on the path of a generational superstar. With that said, the 21-year-old Italian can compete with the best in the world, especially on hard courts.
Sinner currently sits at #15 in the Singles Race to Turin. Holding a 3-2 record in US Open lead-up events, the question was asked whether or not the young Italian had the confidence and form to make a run in New York. Although some may be turned off by a five-set result against Altmaier, I believe the extra time on-court was a help to Sinner’s confidence. He was able to work through some mistakes and find his game in front of a very large crowd.
The Italian noted as much in his on-court post-match interview.
“For me, it’s very important to play best of five sets, because I really like it. Like today, it can be very long, but I just enjoy to stay on the court.”
Looking Forward
He is set to take on Christopher Eubanks in Round 2. The former Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket won his first career Grand Slam match in Round 1 over Pedro Martinez. It was nice to see the American pick up a win on his home soil; however, I do not expect him to give Sinner any trouble on Thursday.
If Sinner gets by Eubanks, he would take on the winner of Grigor Dimitrov and Brandon Nakashima in Round 3. Both are very tough matchups, especially on the courts of Flushing. Hubert Hurkacz is a potential round four matchup and the aforementioned Alcaraz leads this quarter as the #3 overall seed.
A deep run at this year’s US Open will certainly be no walk in the park, but I believe Jannik Sinner could outplay his seed over the next ten days. The courts are playing fast, working right into the wheelhouse of the forehand-crushing Italian. Do not be surprised to look up in a week and see the 21-year-old in his first career US Open quarterfinal.
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