Jannik Sinner is the reigning US Open champion and is considered the top favorite to claim the title at Flushing Meadows this year. Who can stop the Italian star?
Some might instantly respond with "no one" to this question and end the article in less than a line. In fact, they are not wrong, since Jannik Sinner has proven himself the best hard-court player over the last eighteen months.
Before his match against Carlos Alcaraz at the Cincinnati Open, Sinner had amassed a 26-match winning streak on hard courts.
Since the start of 2024, he has won three Grand Slams (two Australian Opens and the US Open), the ATP Finals in Turin, three Masters 1000 titles (Miami, Cincinnati, and Shanghai, all in 2024), as well as the Rotterdam championship.
Jannik Sinner is racing against time to regain his health but remains the top favorite to win the 2025 US Open.
But an even more impressive statistic: excluding Cincinnati, since the start of this year, Sinner has won 60 hard-court matches and lost only three. One of those losses occurred under special circumstances: in Montreal, he had to play two matches in one day, and it was his first tournament after missing the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis. While Andrey Rublev’s victory was deserved, under different conditions, the outcome might have favored Sinner.
In short, the only player who truly defeated Sinner this year is Carlos Alcaraz—twice, at Indian Wells and Beijing.
The biggest rival: Carlos Alcaraz
What does this imply with just 10 days left before the US Open starts? First, Sinner is the number one contender. Even bookmakers rate him slightly above Alcaraz. Currently, the Spanish player seems to be the only real threat.