When, only hours after his run to the Cincinnati Open title, news broke that Jannik Sinner had tested positive twice for the banned substance clostebol back in March, it became clear that the 2024 US Open would be unlike any of his previous 19 main-draw appearances at the Grand Slams.
Though an independent tribunal had cleared the 23-year-old Italian of any wrongdoing, as the top seed and world No. 1, Sinner was fully aware that he would have to face some backlash, some doubters, both current and former players among them.
That’s a whole lot of added noise in a town already known for its cab-honking cacophony.
Perhaps playing with some degree of defiance with something to prove, Sinner has cut his way through the draw this fortnight. Even amidst the spotlight scrutiny, he ousted Mackenzie McDonald, Alex Michelsen, Christopher O'Connell, Tommy Paul, Daniil Medvedev, and, on a muggy Friday evening in Flushing Meadows, No. 25 seed Jack Draper in the semifinals, 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2.
Sinner was nearly taken out against Draper when, at 4-all in the second set, he crashed to the court. (Only he could somehow find a way to return to his feet and respond with a blistering forehand winner.) Though Sinner would call for a trainer to check his left wrist, he played on.
“The physio loosened it up very fast on court, so after I felt okay,” he said. “It went away by playing, which is good. Let’s see how it is tomorrow when it’s cold. It’s going to be a different feeling. Hopefully, it’s nothing to be concerned about.”
The first Italian man to reach the US Open final, Sinner will head into Sunday’s winner-take-all showdown against either Taylor Fritz or Frances Tiafoe, riding a 10-match win streak. He’s aiming to become the fourth man to win the Australian Open and US Open in the same season since both events switched to hard courts, joining elite company in Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Mats Wilander.
He arrived in New York openly admitting that the situation was less than ideal preparation-wise for a Grand Slam. So how has he managed to compartmentalize it all and focus on the business at hand on the court?
“We went just day by day, really, with not so many expectations, trying to find my game, trying to find our rhythm,” said Sinner, who now owns a tour-leading 35 hard-court wins on the year. “I started off the first day losing the first set [against McDonald]. I was set and break down going through that one. Just trying to find confidence throughout the days. We practiced very hard in the days in between, trying to prepare each match in the best possible way.”
Regardless of who’s on the other side of the net on Sunday, Sinner will be facing an American, meaning a partisan crowd will likely be rooting against him. It will be loud. Of course, he’s already learned how to block out the noise.
“I mean, we’re in America, we’re in New York playing against an American, so it’s going to be, for sure, that the crowd is a little bit more on their side,” he said. “But it’s normal. It’s like when I play in Italy. It’s a bit the same. I’m going to accept that. I have my team and my people who are close to me. In my mind, I know that there are many people watching from home from Italy, and I’ll just take some support from them.”
