Jannik Sinner decided against taking part in a press conference after withdrawing from the Cincinnati Open final. The young Italian was forced to concede the match against Carlos Alcaraz after just 23 minutes, having failed to recover from a nasty illness. It was clear from the very first point that Sinner was not his usual self and he lost all five games before retiring from the contest.
The reigning Wimbledon champion looked gutted after informing his trainer that he was unable to continue. He now faces a race against time to be fit for the US Open, which gets underway later this week. He is due to play in the mixed doubles alongside Katerina Siniakova and their opening match is scheduled for Tuesday.
Sinner will also be desperate to defend his singles title at Flushing Meadows, having beaten Taylor Fritz in last year’s final. The main draw will begin on Sunday, meaning the 24-year-old only has a few days to shake off his illness.
He chose not to hold a press conference after the Cincinnati Open final but provided some quotes via the ATP, saying that he will be ‘ready to push’ for another Grand Slam title at the US Open.
Sinner also hinted that he would skip the mixed doubles, explaining that he would need a ‘couple of days’ to get himself back into shape.
“I love Grand Slams a lot,” he said. “These are the main tournaments for my season and for my career. The US Open is going to be a tough tournament but at the same time I’m looking forward to it.
“If I’m ready, physically and mentally, I will be ready to push. So as I said, now a couple of days of recovery and then we will get again back to work. Hopefully we will be ready so for sure, the main goal here in the US.”
Opening up on his disappointment after the Cincinnati Open final, Sinner added: “I didn’t feel great from yesterday, also during the night. I thought I would recover a bit better but it was not the case.
“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.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Carlos. He had a great week, great, great tournament again. Now the main focus, obviously, is for the US Open and recovery is the most important. Then we will see.
“I feel like [it was] a very positive week, making the finals of a Masters event is always an amazing achievement. I feel like in the season I’m playing is an incredible season, so we’ll keep going and keep pushing.”
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