Sinner allays hip concerns heading into Cincinnati, US Open
Sinner’s hip injury isn’t as bad as he first feared
Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic
Jannik Sinner has quelled concerns about a potential hip injury ahead of the US Open, saying that he feels “quite good” heading into Cincinnati this week.
Just days ago, the Italian suffered his fifth loss of the season, with worrying scenes as the 22-year-old nursed his hip area on multiple occasions across the 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 loss to Andrey Rublev in Montreal.
After the match, he even went as far as saying, “making miracles in the next five days, it’s not possible,” and “being ready for Cincinnati and 100 percent I don’t think it’s possible”.
Now, however, Sinner has done a 180 and declared that his hip is fine, with no issues as he begins his Cincinnati campaign.
Sinner confident in hip ahead of Cincinnati
“I feel quite good. Obviously I made nearly one week without practising before and then after playing for two, three days in a row, a bit more than usual, [that] could [have had] a potential impact to the hip,” Sinner said.
“But I’m not afraid. I feel good with the hip, and I’m just looking forward to go back on court here.
“We go day by day. [Monday] is my first practice day. Let’s see how it feels… I have a couple of days to prepare and hopefully show some good tennis.”
The biggest challenge Sinner will face, in his estimation, is the Cincinnati conditions, rather than his own physical state.
“Here usually I struggle a little bit to play because of the conditions, but I’m looking forward to see my reaction this year, because it’s a great test for me,” he explained.
“I believe that this tournament can give you a lot of confidence then for the US Open, which is the last Grand Slam we have throughout the year. So in my mind, this is a very important tournament.”
Sinner currently holds a 450 point lead over Carlos Alcaraz in the Race to Turin, with the Spaniard closing the gap on him after Sinner began the year winning 25 of his first 26 matches.
