US Open 2024: Jannik Sinner opens up on watching rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic suffer HUGE upsets
Jannik Sinner has revealed the lesson he learned from seeing his rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic knocked out of the US Open on two consecutive nights.
In the men’s event, the draw opened after Alcaraz was surprised by Botic van de Zandschulp and Djokovic subsequently lost to Alexei Popyrin.
Neither the No. 2 nor No. 3 seeds reached the fourth round, allowing Sinner to claim his first US Open title and his second Grand Slam of the year.
The world number 1 avoided a surprise of his own on Saturday by winning in three sets against Christopher O’Connell.
After his 6-1 6-4 6-2 victory, Sinner explained how psychologically challenging it is to play knowing that his two biggest rivals have been defeated.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is the favorite to win the US Open after his two rivals dropped out
Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were defeated in the third and second rounds respectively
“It shows that this sport is unpredictable,” he explained. “When you drop a little bit from your level – whether it’s mentally, whether it’s tennis-wise or physically – it has a huge impact on the outcome in the end.
‘Both opponents they lost to played incredible tennis. And that happens.
‘So I just look at what I have to do – I think that’s what I’ve been doing lately – and then we’ll see what I can do.’
Sinner will now face American Tommy Paul in an exciting battle for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 14th-seeded player defeated Canadian Gabriel Diallo in four sets and Sinner said: ‘It’s a big challenge… he plays great tennis, especially here in America, so it’s going to be a tough match for me.
“But hopefully I’m ready to compete in the best way possible, and I’m just looking forward to it. These matches are very exciting to play and I’m happy to be part of this. So let’s see.”