“To work miracles in five days, it’s not possible” – Sinner casts doubt on Cincinnati participation

Jannik Sinner suffered his fifth defeat of the season on Saturday night. The Italian lost in the quarter-finals of the Montreal Masters 1000 to Russian Andrey Rublev 6-3, 1-6, 6-2.

In the third set of the match, the world No 1 grimaced and massaged his hip several times without calling on the physiotherapist. It is a recurring problem that has been following him since the Monte-Carlo in April.

It is potentially a real worry for the Italian in the lead-up to the US Open. Sinner was keen to assuage concerns in his post-match press conference by explaining that the problem was more mental than physical. But he did hint that his participation in the Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati, which starts next Tuesday, was in question.

This kind of thing is more mental than physical

Jannik Sinner

“Yes, everything is fine. You know, I think that kind of thing is more mental than physical, that’s for sure,” he said.

“Even if I know that my body is not as strained as I would like to because of last week, but it was also mentally for sure.

“Yeah, let’s hope to get back in shape. Obviously now making miracles in the next five days, it’s not possible, but being ready for Cincinnati and 100% I don’t think is possible.

“But then for US Open for sure I want to be back, which is also the main event for the US swing, last Grand Slam of the year. So I’m aiming for that.”

If Sinner does make it to play in Cincinnati next week, he will face Tallon Griekspoor or a qualifier in his first match.

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