On his 23rd birthday, Jannik Sinner did not take to the court as scheduled on Day 5 of the Cincinnati Open: ATP No.1 in fact booked his ticket to the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 without playing, because Jordan Thompson withdrew a few hours before the match.
The physical problem felt by the Australian could be more serious than expected, especially considering that he also decided to skip doubles, where he was supposed to face Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen paired with Max Purcell.
Â
In the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open, the Italian will once again challenge Andrey Rublev. Jannik will be looking for revenge after losing to the native of Moscow just last week at the ATP Masters 1000 in Montreal. The Russian took one hour and 21 minutes to beat wild card Brandon Nakashima with a score of 7-6(5), 6-1. At the end of a very balanced first set, decided only by details, Rublev raised the level even further and left a game to his opponent.
But what is the real extent of Jannik Sinner’s hip injury? In recent weeks, the Italian has been hit by a wave of criticism due to his withdrawal from the Paris Olympics, due to tonsillitis. A painful choice, but one that has allowed the Italian tennis player to take a breather and look forward with greater tranquility to a phase of the season that is absolutely fundamental for him, playing on a surface, hard court, that is particularly suited to his characteristics.
Â
Montreal, has set off the first alarm bells for the South Tyrolean, who was unable to defend the title he won last year. Now it’s Cincinnati’s turn, but despite winning the first round against Alex Michelsen, the 23-year-old has shown that his condition is not yet excellent.
Tanja Ćulafić wrote about this very topic in the pages of the Serbian daily newspaper Sportal.rs. The journalist questioned the consistency of the current number 1, wondering if the Italian has really recovered from the hip problems that stopped him in the summer:
“Jannik Sinner has conquered the first place in the ATP rankings and somehow managed to stay there until now, but the question is what will happen next? He won the Australian Open at the beginning of the year and it seemed like it was the beginning of his era, but then the injuries took over. There were some bad results, up until the hip injury, and when it was thought that he could find his rhythm and shine at the Olympics, he gave up because of tonsillitis. Another stop. We saw that things did not go well for him in Montreal, and now in Cincinnati, where he defeated Alex Michelsen, he says he is not at 100% at all. From the way he looks on the court and from what he says, he seems worried that his hip injury is continuing and not completely healed.”
Smiling his way to the top 😊
Happy 23rd birthday to our World No. 1, @janniksin! pic.twitter.com/Y6AYleO6Ei
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 16, 2024
The truth is that we will know the truth about the physical condition and the state of the Italian’s hip from the quarterfinals against Rublev at the Cincinnati Open and the upcoming US Open. It is certain that the hip represents one of the critical points for tennis players; a serious injury could represent an obstacle to the continuation of a career, but obviously it is still too early to make hypotheses.
Personally, I only see a tennis player who has had a sum of physical problems and who is not yet 100%, but I am sure that Jnanik will soon find the best level of his physical form.
Happy birthday, Jannik! 🎉 It’s the age of consecration, just like all the greats of the past. Time to make your mark! 💪 #JannikSinner #NextGen #TennisLegend #Sinner #Jannik pic.twitter.com/m8flfKap48
— TennisTime (@Tennistimechat) August 16, 2024
Sinner previously spoke about his hip injury at the Cincinnati Open media day, explaining:
“I feel pretty good. Obviously I had almost a week without practice before Montreal and then I played two or three days in a row, more than usual. That could have potentially had an impact on my hip. But I’m not worried or scared. My hip is fine, I’m looking forward to getting back on the court here in Cincinnati. I think my season is very, very positive and I want to continue to build on that.”
Sinner spent the first ten weeks of his career at the top of the rankings. On this he said:
“If you want to keep this position, I have to keep improving. And if you want to improve, you have to improve more than the others. I think it’s a balance between how much you work and how much quality you put into the work. Usually I struggle a little bit here because of the conditions, but I’m looking forward to seeing how I’ll perform this year. It’s a big test for me. This tournament can give you a lot of confidence ahead of the US Open, the last Slam of the season. So it’s a really important tournament for me. I’ll think day by day.”