Fans were worried when Jannik Sinner struggled physically last week at the Canadian Open, but the Italian insists he is confident about his fitness ahead of the Cincinnati Open.
Sinner played his first event since Wimbledon in Montreal at the Canadian Open last week. He was the defending champion at the tournament and won his opening two matches comfortably.
However, his title defense ended after a three-set loss to Andrey Rublev. Sinner's chances of winning that match were jeopardized when he started limping between points after the first game of the deciding set.
It was unclear what the exact issue was at that time. Sinner discussed the problem immediately after the match. Some fans and reporters thought it was a knee injury, but the Italian never described it as that in his comments after the match.
Sinner was not confident about his fitness for the Cincinnati Open immediately after his loss to Rublev. He felt that being ready for the Masters-1000 tournament in Ohio would require a miracle, which was not possible.
More information has since come to light, and it is good news for Sinner's fans. Firstly, a hip injury is the main issue the Australian Open champion is managing. He did not mention any problem with his knee or leg.
Secondly, Sinner says he feels good about his hip and is confident about featuring in Cincinnati. The 22-year-old thinks his previous lack of practice while he was ill (which stopped him from playing at the Olympics) played a role in his physical struggles in Montreal.
"I feel quite good. Obviously I made nearly one week without practising before and then after playing for two, three days in a row, a bit more than usual, [that] could [have had] a potential impact to the hip. But I'm not afraid. I feel good with the hip, and I'm just looking forward to go back on court here."
It is great to hear that Sinner feels confident about being ready for the event. His involvement will also relieve the tournament organizers, who lost Novak Djokovic after the Serbian withdrew from the Cincinnati Open.
Sinner also spoke about the pain of missing out on the Olympics due to tonsillitis. The Italian mentioned earlier in the season that winning a medal at the games was one of his biggest goals for 2024.
The world No. 1 did not hide his disappointment in missing the Olympics, especially after playing so well in the first half of the year. However, Sinner said he had to accept it and was still happy with his season so far.
"This year I felt like because I was playing well, also in Paris, in Roland Garros, and knowing that Olympics are there that I can play good on that court or quite well, trying to give myself a chance for medals."
"But sometimes you have to accept it. Obviously it goes also in your mind after now that you missed this because you wanted to prepare it. But it's all part of the sport, and I also have to be happy with what I have, not always looking on the negatives. I believe that my season is going in a very, very positive way, and we just keep building on that."
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