US Open: Healthy again, Jannik Sinner breezes into 2nd round, equals Italian record

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner began his title defence at the US Open in style, showing no signs of the illness that had derailed his Cincinnati Open run earlier in August. On Tuesday, Sinner produced a flawless performance against World No. 89 Vit Kopriva, who was making his debut in the main draw of the season’s final Grand Slam.

Sinner was ruthless, defeating the 28-year-old Czech 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 in just one hour and 38 minutes. It was precisely the sort of swift outing he would have been hoping for after a difficult week in the lead-up to the US Open.

It was Sinner's 22nd successive win in hard-court Grand Slams - a streak that began during his title-winning run at Australian Open last year. Sinner equalled Matteo Berrettini for the most wins in men's singles matches by an Italian at US Open in the Open Era.

The Italian, who captured his maiden Wimbledon title in July, had been forced to retire with illness after just five games of his Cincinnati Masters final against Carlos Alcaraz earlier in August. His subsequent withdrawal from the inaugural mixed doubles championship raised doubts over his fitness for New York.

NO SIGNS OF TROUBLE

However, Sinner looked in excellent health and moved freely, showing no lingering effects of illness as he powered into the second round with a commanding display. He allowed Kopriva no foothold in the contest, despite the Czech having recently broken into the world’s top 100. Kopriva did his best to rise to the occasion but was simply outclassed by the top-ranked player’s relentless serving and precision groundstrokes.

Broken twice in each of the three sets, Kopriva could not find a way through Sinner’s game. He managed to carve out a single break point at 2-4 in the third set, but Sinner calmly snuffed it out before sealing victory with a trademark backhand down the line — a statement to the rest of the field.

“I’m very happy that I’m healthy again,” said Sinner, confirming he was back to full fitness.

The Italian continues to wear a compression sleeve, first seen during his elbow injury scare at Wimbledon, but he insisted he was playing without pain.

“We did our best to be in the best possible shape, so I’m very happy about today’s performance,” he added.

Sinner also delighted the New York crowd, reflecting fondly on last year’s triumph.

“I have amazing memories. I’m starting the tournament, hopefully, in the best possible way. Coming back to a Grand Slam where the emotions are still so strong, I’m very happy to return,” he said.

Sinner, who has avoided both Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic in his half of the draw, will face World No. 36 Alexei Popyrin who hammered Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori in straight sets in another opening round match.

MUSETTI AND SWIATEK PROGRESS

Earlier on Tuesday, Sinner’s compatriot Lorenzo Musetti recovered from a shaky start to overcome Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The 10th seed prevailed 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round.

Meanwhile, former champion Iga Swiatek cruised past Emiliana Arango 6-1, 6-2 in the women’s singles. The second seed and Wimbledon champion will next meet Dutch No. 66 Suzan Lamens.