Jannik Sinner had a bad start against home player Mackenzie McDonald at the 2024 US Open, but he turned it around in spectacular fashion.
Sinner will have lots of eyeballs following him at this year's US Open, and it's not because he's the World No. 1 player on the ATP Tour. That's the main reason people should follow him, but lots of people will likely follow him because of his recent controversy.
It was announced recently that Sinner tested positive for a banned substance in March but wasn't suspended due to his explanation being deemed probable enough. An investigation still took place, but he was cleared recently.
That's when the news came out, and that's why his run at the US Open will be under the microscope. Some have speculated that it could negatively impact him, while others hinted that it's likely going to have the opposite effect now that it's behind him.
With the way the match started, it seemed like Sinner was bothered by it. He wasn't playing poorly, but he wasn't playing that machine-like clean tennis that we have seen in the past.
It certainly wasn't close to his level from the early months of this season, when he outplayed everybody. McDonald, to his credit, is a solid player and played really good tennis in the opening set of his match.
However, Sinner finished that opening set with 14 unforced errors, which was too much, and that's why he lost it 2-6. The second set was much better from the Italian, who started to hit the ball more cleanly while limiting the errors.
McDonald, though, actually took the early break, leading 1-0, but soon after that, Sinner was able to take over the set and the match subsequently.
He won the second 6-2 behind solid overall play, where he had much better control of the ball. McDonald kind of tried to overhit in the second set but failed, totaling only 8 winners and 19 unforced errors.
He couldn't find some of the shots he hit in the opening set. After the opening few games of the second set, the match was never close. Sinner was just dominating from the baseline, hitting incredibly well.
McDonald's focus lapsed more and more with every game that he lost. It became apparent to everybody at the Arthur Ashe Stadium that he was likely heading towards a defeat, which is strange considering how well the match started for him.
The score in the third set was 6-1, which was just a brutal display from Sinner. He totaled 11 winners in that set while not committing a single unforced error. McDonald once again had more errors than winners, which continued to be a trend. He wasn't as aggressive as before, but it didn't matter.
The final set was the closest in terms of score, as Sinner won it 6-2, but it was still a dominant display. In the end, it was a superb comeback win for Sinner, who quickly shut down any notions of being distracted by anything.
After losing the first set and being down in the second, he won the match 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2, which proves how good he was, but he also recognized that there was place for improvement.
"I started not in the best way. The first match is never easy. You have to accept it. He played really well in the beginning. I tried to stay there mentally. I tried to get into rhythm. I’m very happy to be in the next round. First time I got a win here on this court. So I’m very happy."
"We go day by day. Tomorrow I have a day off where we try to get more rhythm and improve for the next match. I have room to improve. I’m looking forward for this one. Let’s see what I can do."
Jannik Sinner vs Mackenzie McDonald Match Stats:
| Jannik Sinner | Mackenzie McDonald | |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Aces | 4 |
| 5 | Double Faults | 6 |
| 57% | First Serve % | 58% |
| 74% (40/54) | Points Won After First Serve % | 54% (31/57) |
| 49% (20/41) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 44% (18/41) |
| 53% (8/15) | Break Point Conversion | 36% (4/11) |
| 38 | Winners | 26 |
| 29 | Unforced Errors | 46 |
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