"I’m better in cards": Jannik Sinner jokes as he unwinds with golf and card games with his team at Cincinnati Open

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner powered into the semi-finals of the 2025 Cincinnati Open with a dominant victory over Félix Auger-Aliassime, producing a performance he described as one of his sharpest of the week.

“Today I felt well on court,” Sinner said to Tennis Channel. “Especially the return games were very, very good. I felt like my serve was great too. I had just a small drop, but it’s normal at times to start a set a bit differently. Against this kind of player, you can put yourself in a very difficult situation because when he gets the serve right, it’s very difficult to break back. So I’m happy for today’s match. I raised my level, which I was aiming for today, so I’m happy about that. Now let’s see what’s coming in the semis.”

The Italian came out firing, winning the first six games before briefly dropping two, then surging again to seal the win. He admitted that starting so strongly in a big match is always the aim.

“I wish I could start every match like this, but I’m aiming for that,” he said. “In important matches, especially in the later stages of a tournament, we feel more comfortable. The first couple of matches are very difficult — you come here, you don’t know exactly what to expect. But then, after a couple of matches, you know how the situation is on the court. I’d already played a couple of day matches here, so I knew how it was going to be. I can’t do it every match, of course, but I’m happy with how I handled it today.”

Auger-Aliassime had never lost to Sinner before, but in the build-up to the match admitted the challenge had changed, saying the world No. 1 was “like unbeatable now.” Sinner relished the chance to end that head-to-head deficit.

“I’m someone who loves challenges,” he explained. “I was looking forward to this match because I’d never beaten him before. The last time we played was a long time ago, so you don’t know exactly what to expect. He’s a very tough opponent, and I knew that. This morning in the warm-up, I was more focused, everything was working slightly better, and I felt much better today.

“But you have to believe against every player. Even now, in the position I’m in, I still have to believe I can make it, because every match starts 0–0. Anything can happen. Sometimes you start badly — like against [Gabriel] Diallo, I was a break down in less than five minutes. We’re not machines.

“I take belief from practice sessions, from how I come into a match, how I’m prepared, what I’m eating — everything together. And if you feel comfortable off the court, with the people you have around you, it makes life easier.”

For Sinner, titles and trophies are secondary to testing the limits of his potential. “I just want to challenge myself and see what I can reach,” he said. “I don’t want to talk about titles or wins — I just want to take everything possible out of myself so that after my career, I can say I gave 100% in everything. Hopefully I’m able to do that. It takes sacrifices, but I look forward to it. That doesn’t mean you don’t have a life outside of tennis — for sure not. I love the people I have around me, but sometimes it takes some sacrifices.”

Away from the court, Sinner still finds time to switch off — even if his current schedule is influenced by the time difference with his family in Italy. “At the moment, with the time difference, my family is at home. I call them when I wake up, which makes things easier. I haven’t changed to local time, so I know exactly what time it is there — now it’s 11 p.m., so they’re going to sleep, and I don’t need the phone anymore. That’s strange, but sometimes it’s good to put the phone away,” he said.

“We’ve already said we’ll play a couple of holes of golf, just to do something different. I love to play cards with my team — we have a good atmosphere. I’m better in cards,” he added with a smile.