Statement start from Sinner: World No.1 opens up US Open account with straight sets triumph

Jannik Sinner now sits on 22 consecutive Grand Slam wins on hard courts as the king of the US Open opens his title defence in some style swatting aside Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 at Flushing Meadows.

Sinner has of course had a bit of an interesting fortnight. After looking superb at the Cincinnati Open, he played Carlos Alcaraz in the final and had to retire sick and some wondered what state he would be in going into the US Open.

But in truth that question was answered very quickly as he won three sets in a row and was seemingly in a hurry to get off court it was that good as he saw off the Czech qualifier and answered all questions with his racquet.

It is now eight consecutive wins at the US Open for Sinner and he has won 13 out of the last 14 matches overall after also sealing Wimbledon. Alcaraz also went about his business last night and with fans likely looking towards that final, it is certainly one to look at and Sinner has passed his first test often the hardest of all.

Amid his recent issue at Cincinnati, he looked fresh and was striking freely with precise depth to rush Kopriva who struggled to cope with being rushed by Sinner. He will next face Alexei Popyrin or Emil Ruusuvuori. With his win, he also stayed on course in the battle for World No.1 for Alcaraz with a winner-takes-all final.

He said prior to his match that he was not yet back to full fitness but if he is at least 90%, it speaks volumes about the quality he possesses. Sinner breezed into a 4-0 lead as expected. The backhand was on full flight and this masked the fact that he had a 59% success rate. Kopriva saved four set points with a superb drop shot but this was as good as it got for Kopriva as Sinner barely got out of second gear cruising to a routine victory.

“It feels great to be back here. Obviously it’s a very special tournament. The last Slam of the year. The atmosphere is always amazing here. Thanks everyone for coming and cheering and supporting. Very happy that I’m healthy again. We did our best to be in the best possible shape here. I’m very happy today’s performance. Let’s see what’s coming," said Sinner immediately post win.