Jannik Sinner has not been seen competitively since he defeated Alexander Zverev in the Wimbledon final to collect the title for the second consecutive year.
The Italian has been rather selective with the tournaments he plays, following his early exit at Roland Garros after an intense run on the European clay court swing.
Sinner opted out of the Canadian Open, which many saw as a foregone conclusion anyway, but then reports of a knee injury come to fruition ahead of the Cincinnati Open.
The injury kept him out of action in Cincinnati and many began to ponder whether the world No 1 might miss the final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open.
However, there has been a positive update about Sinner’s training ahead of a potential appearance at Flushing Meadows at the end of August.
Luigi Ansaloni, who is a journalist for Gazzetta, has provided an update on Sinner’s training ahead of his potential appearane at the US Open.
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“Sinner has trained well, the last two days at the Monte Carlo club. He will also train this morning, according to the schedule,” said the Italian.
When probed about more details about Sinner’s training sessions, he said: “He trained in the afternoon, after having reserved the court for 2 hours, at the club.”
It is a very good sign that Sinner is spending hours on the tennis courts ahead of flying to the US Open, and his chances of playing are certainly looking better.
The world No 1 will also not be playing during the US Open ‘Opening Week’, which includes exhibition matches and the Mixed Doubles, so he will have more time to prepare over his rivals.
His first match at the tournament will likely be either Monday, 31st August or Tuesday, 1st September, so there is plenty of time to get back into shape for Sinner.
It’s looking very likely the Italian will play, despite the knee injury, but that doesn’t mean much for his chances of lifting the trophy at Flushing Meadows.
Sinner will bring with his a certain amount of rustiness, which has also had to shake off when he arrived at Wimbledon without playing a competitive match on the grass.
While he did win that title, Sinner was not dealing with an injury like he is now with his knee. Even then, Sinner survived a fright in the first round against Miomir Kecmanovic, who he needed five sets to overcome.
Nevertheless, it’s very exciting to see Sinner back out on the court and his appearance at the US Open will be very welcomed after a barren period on the North American hardcourt swing.
