Obviously, five months so dramatic, and with such a heavy secret, cannot be filed away quickly.: «I hope to be able to turn the page, it will take a little more time, and I hope to be happy again. Every tournament I played I had and still have, even for this US Open, low expectations – he clarified – physically, for what happened, for the ailments and for other things, I’m not where I would like to be and I still don’t feel like myself».
It gives hope that even in Cincinnati, the tournament he won on the eve of the Clostebol affair, Sinner had said he wasn’t at his best, even if to definitively sweep away all the clouds we will have to wait until midnight on September 6th when the deadline for the possible appeal by Wada (the international anti-doping agency) and the Italian agency, Nado Italia, to the acquittal of the Italian will expire. After the rivers of words (from coach Cahill, from the fired Naldi, from a long list of colleagues more or less on his side (Berrettini totally aligned, Alcaraz and Djokovic decidedly more cold-blooded, Griekspoor, Kyrgios and Shapovalov very critical) tonight the court speaks.
Sinner will play against McDonald and in the second round he could face another American, Alex Michelsen, who was already defeated in Cincinnati before the long remote hearing (over six hours) for the doping case.. And so Sinner should climb the mountains of a complicated draw: on paper Medvedev, Alcaraz and Djokovic. While on one hand the eyes of all of Italy weigh heavily, on the other Sinner will be able to play more lightly, thinking about the fact that no matter what happens, after New York he will remain number one in the world (the points that were deducted for the doping investigation do not change anything). Next to him, the magic circle halved, there will be, as in the last tournaments, only Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi.
A new physiotherapist remains to be found: for now, his body is being taken care of by osteopath Andrea Cipolla. And it seems very likely that after the US Open, Marco Panichi, Djokovic’s former athletic trainer, will arrive. But the important thing now is that Sinner is happy again.
Berrettini and Musetti advance
While waiting for Jannik Sinner, who will play this afternoon in Italy (after 7.15 pm) against the American Mackenzie McDonald, yesterday the Italian team at the US Open performed well at the US Open, the fourth and final seasonal Grand Slam event, which has been taking place since yesterday on the hard courts of Flushing Meadows.
Good start for Lorenzo Musetti. The 22-year-old tennis player from Carrara, world number 18 and seed and bronze medalist at Paris 2024, passed the first round on his debut against the American giant Reilly Opelkawith a score of 7-6 (3) 1-6 6-1 7-5. Musetti came back from 5-2 for the American in the fourth set. In particular, at 3-5 he broke his opponent’s serve, recovering from 0-40 and canceling 5 set points for the American. In the second round, the Italian will challenge Miomir Kecmanovic, who beat the Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka, forced to retire at the beginning of the fifth set. At the time of the stoppage, the Serbian was leading 7-6 (2) 2-6 5-7 7-5 1-0.
“I had lost three times out of three – the Italian explained during the post-match press conference – and when I saw the draw I was a bit worried, because Opelka is a bête noire for many and you never know what to expect from him. Today patience made the difference, you could see my change in mentality and attitude”.
“The sprint, compared to the matches of some time ago, was seen in the hottest moments. At the time of the first clashes, for example, he dominated in the tie breaks; while today in the hot moments I dominated. I played better in the important phases and I finished with coolness. In this I think I have improved a lot”, added Musetti.
Good start also for Matteo Berrettini. The 28-year-old Roman tennis player confirmed that he has put the problems that “limited” him in the past year behind him and clearly defeated the Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinolas. The Italian, number 44 in the world, defeated his Iberian rival with a score of 7-6 (2) 6-2 6-3. In the second round Berrettini will challenge the American Taylor Fritz, who in his debut in the Big Apple defeated the Argentine Camilo Ugo Carabelli with a score of 7-5 6-1 6-2. “I know I can do better but, as I said, I have to take it one step at a time. Now I have to raise my level of play in view of the second round,” declared Berrettini.