After winning the Cincinnati Masters, Jannik Sinner’s preparations for the US Open were greatly aided. However, according to former British No. 1 Tim Henman, Sinner is just the third favourite to win the year’s last Grand Slam.
Prior to the announcement of his failing drug tests at Indian Wells in March, Sinner defeated Frances Tiafoe on Monday to win his sixth title of 2024.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) accepted Sinner’s explanation that the banned substance clostebol, which can help with muscle growth, accidentally entered his system through a product one of his teammates had used to treat a minor wound, despite the world No. 1 testing positive for the substance twice.
In an exclusive interview with Tennis365, Sky Sports Tennis pundit Henman said, “For us ordinary mortals, not having matches in the build-up to a big event is a problem, but then you look at the greats of the game and it is immaterial when we talk about a player like Djokovic.”
“He is so good that it won’t be an issue for him not to play on hard courts before the US Open; we’ve seen in the past that he can play fantastic tennis without the requirement for warm-up matches.
“There is so much to be gained from his experience, confidence, and wisdom that he is extremely difficult to defeat in a best-of-five set scenario.
Additionally, he will enter New York full of confidence, energy, and excitement after winning the Olympic gold. He could even feel a little more liberated now that he has the gold medal he has always desired.
“For the US Open right now, I would rank Alcaraz and Djokovic higher than Sinner for this reason, among others.
“Sinner has those injury concerns, and even though we know how good he can play when healthy, playing two weeks and seven five-set matches requires you to be completely fit. Because of this hip issue, we’re not sure if Sinner is prepared for it.
Henman continued by saying that one of the US Open’s most interesting sideshows for home fans would be the match between the American players who are now rated just outside the top 10.
For the majority of the year, Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton, and Seb Korda had been fighting for the American No. 1 ranking; however, Tiafoe’s run to the Cincinnati final restored his prominence before his trip to New York.
Henman continued, “You look at the American players’ rankings and they’re all so close to each other, so there’s a good war going on there.”
It will be intriguing to watch who emerges on top among those four because Fritz, Paul, Shelton, and Korda are currently ranked close to one another. Tiafoe is involved as well.
“When a home player makes a big run, the New York audience love to cheer on an American, so it’s always terrific for a tournament.”
Then you consider a player like Jack Draper, and while it’s wonderful to see Matteo Berrettini back in good health, I would hope that he could play into the second week. Any of the top seeds would find it dangerous to play him early on.
“With the Olympics mixed in, it’s been an odd season; we might see a few more upsets this year.” It takes 14 weeks from the French Open first round to the New York opening round.
That equates to four Grand Slams and two Masters series events in just 14 weeks if you consider the Olympics to be an additional major. Because of the hectic schedule, it is practically impossible for players to perform well at every event.
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