Jannik Sinner is seeking his third Grand Slam success of the season at the US Open, having reached all three finals so far.
ATP number one Sinner won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon earlier this year, either side of a French Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.
Both players are now looking to continue their phenomenal careers at the US Open, where Sinner is the top seed.
And he’s off to winning ways in Queens, New York, having defeated Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in the first round.
Tim Henman thinks Sinner wins the US Open, which would represent a fifth career Grand Slam title for the defending champion.
Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty ImagesJohn McEnroe ‘amazed’ by what Jannik Sinner has done
He now takes on Alexei Popyrin in his second round match, ahead of which tennis legend John McEnroe has shared his honest thoughts on the world number one.
McEnroe said on ESPN: “I know his original coach when he was a kid, Riccardo Piatti, who did a great job with him.
“But he felt like he needed something more, just like Coco [Gauff] has decided to get a new coach. Darren Cahill is one of the greatest coaches that you will ever see in any sport, he should be in the Hall of Fame.
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“He coached [Andre] Agassi, Simona Halep, Lleyton Hewitt. He has done a number with Jannik Sinner, made him more of a believer, changed his serve.
“He is incredible in and out of the corner. Sinner is playing at a level that I did not anticipate would be that high at this point in his career.
“I am very amazed that he is this good. I have watched him for years, he is a great kid. He went through a lot of turmoil with these doping violations, I don’t know exactly what has happened in terms of what went on.
“But the bottom line is that there was a lot of pressure here when he played. He handled that, he went to Australia and it was revisited. He handled that great.
“He got three months, maybe that could have helped him a little bit to regroup, but all in all he has been a huge plus for our game.”
Jannik Sinner may have slight worry before his US Open second round match
Sinner truly is a force to be reckoned with, and worryingly for his ATP rivals he has shown his superb ability on all surfaces.
He’s won hard court Grand Slams at the Australian Open and US Open and a grass court Grand Slam at Wimbledon, as well as reaching the French Open final on clay.
Now another US Open triumph is his main priority, which would represent a 21st ATP title for the 24-year-old.
He would also become the first man to successfully defend his US Open title since legendary figure Roger Federer in 2008.
But first standing in his way is Popyrin, who is into round two at Flushing Meadows after a straight-sets win over Emil Ruusuvuori.
YearTitlesTournaments20252Wimbledon (Outdoor/Grass)
Australian Open (Outdoor/Hard)20248Nitto ATP Finals (Indoor/Hard)
ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (Outdoor/Hard)
US Open (Outdoor/Hard)
ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati (Outdoor/Hard)
Halle (Outdoor/Grass)
ATP Masters 1000 Miami (Outdoor/Hard)
Rotterdam (Indoor/Hard)
Australian Open (Outdoor/Hard)20234Vienna (Indoor/Hard)
Beijing (Outdoor/Hard)
ATP Masters 1000 Canada (Outdoor/Hard)
Montpellier (Indoor/Hard)20221Umag (Outdoor/Clay)20214Antwerp (Indoor/Hard)
Sofia (Indoor/Hard)
Washington (Outdoor/Hard)
Melbourne 1 (Outdoor/Hard)20201Sofia (Indoor/Hard)Jannik Sinner ATP titles
And while Sinner is the overwhelming favourite to come out on top, he may be slightly worried given that the Australian won their only previous meeting.
The duo went face-to-face in the round of 32 at the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid in 2021, where Popyrin beat Sinner 7-6(5), 6-2.