Jannik Sinner is gearing up for his return to tennis in Cincinnati, in what will be his first foray back into the sport since winning the Wimbledon title last month.
That triumph marked a culmination of many years of hard work, wrought with external hardships that few could have predicted.
His three-month absence is chief among them, and the manner in which the 23-year-old roared straight back into the finals of the Italian Open and Roland Garros was stunning.
However, to maintain that form and then dethrone the two-time defending champion on Centre Court was so impressive, moving him to within just one major title of matching Carlos Alcaraz’s five won.
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He will be hoping to draw level with him in New York next month, but first must ensure his preparation is perfect at the Cincinnati Open.
This year, there’s been a key change to the event that Jannik Sinner has admitted he’s not enamoured with.
Jannik Sinner reacts to the new 12-day Masters 1000 tournament format
Speaking to the press in Cincinnati, ahead of his opening match later this week, he was asked for his thoughts on the new 12-day format implemented this year.
This alteration saw the Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open merge, and instead of being two separate events, both held over a one-week period, they would instead run in tandem over 12 condensed days.
This has made for some unprecedented reactions, most notably seeing Sinner, Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic all withdraw from Toronto.
The former, often unwilling to feed any controversy with his words, did offer a little insight into his genuine feelings on the change.
He admitted: “By now, there are many tournaments like this; they get long.
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“But (we players) can’t control everything: for the fans, it’s nice, because they can enjoy two weekends of good tennis. If you ask me if I would prefer a week-long tournament… Yes, like the one in Monte Carlo, for example, I prefer it. But that’s fine.”
Jannik Sinner will want to repeat his Cincinnati and US Open double from 2024
Although his first Grand Slam title came at the 2024 Australian Open, it was arguably around this time of the year that we really saw the very best of Sinner, and the start of a generational run of form.
Heading into Cincinnati 12 months ago, he had never got past the third round at this event, and had just a sole Masters 1000 title to his name, won in Canada.
There was an expectation that he would challenge for the title, but the way in which he won the event, brushing aside some of the best, reaffirmed his world number one spot and stunned many.
He beat Alexander Zverev, Andrey Rublev and Frances Tiafoe on his way to the title, and followed that up by winning the US Open, dropping just a single set throughout that tournament.
It marked a mesmeric couple of months, which culminated in his cemented end-of-year number one spot, and an ATP Finals title too.
Sinner can only dream of copying last year’s success again this year.