Coming off a nearly month-long break, Jannik Sinner looks forward to retaining his crown in Cincinnati. He started his campaign here by recording his fastest ATP victory. Sinner defeated the qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan by 6-1,6-1 in just 59 minutes in the first match. Following this impressive start to this Cincinnati Open campaign, the Italian said, “So I’m very happy about today’s performance, playing against a qualifier. It’s not easy, so I’m happy about today, and let’s see what’s coming.” Currently, he’s taking on the Canadian Gabriel Diallo in his R32 match.

This is Jannik Sinner’s first meeting with the 23-year-old Canadian, and he has already gotten off to a winning start in this match. He secured the first set by 6-2, after winning six straight games from 0 to 2. But in the second set, something bizarre happened! Play was halted during the second game of the second set when a fire alarm in the 1899 club grandstand went off.

Jannik Sinner was seen laughing, witnessing this bizarre incident during the match. While sharing the update about this incident, renowned tennis journalist Ben Rothenberg wrote, “Power remains shaky, and there now appears to be a fire alarm going off in the south side of the Cincinnati Open stadium, but play is resuming.” Jose Morgado coined this incident “a nightmare” and “a big mess!”

However, following a delay of several minutes, the players agreed to play through the sound and flashes, playing four points before the alarm ended. Seeing Jannik Sinner give a nod to resume playing, the crowd erupted in joy.

Jannik Sinner looks good in this match. If he wins this match, he may face the American Tommy Paul in the fourth round. Following that, he could face another Canadian, Felix Auger-Aliassime, in the QF before taking on Taylor Fritz in a probable SF clash at the Cincinnati Open. Winning all these matches will ensure yet another nail-biting contest against his fierce rival, Carlos Alcaraz, in the final.

Last year, Jannik Sinner defeated Frances Tiafoe to win the title, and if he manages to defend his title this year, then he’ll join the elite group featuring Mats Wilander, Michael Chang, Andre Agassi, and Roger Federer, the only four men who have managed to retain the crown in Cincinnati in the Open Era. Can Sinner be the fifth one? Time will tell! But he is someone who always chases records and looks to unlock further accomplishments.

Jannik Sinner highlights three game area improvements 

The world number one has already won two big titles (AO and Wimbledon) this season. Although he came inches closer to lifting titles in Rome and at Roland Garros, his fierce rival Carlos Alcaraz deprived him on both occasions. Recently, Jannik Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill revealed key factors that had pushed him to become the world number one.

Cahill had joined Sinner’s team in 2022, and he is one of those people who has closely seen his transition from a rising name to a superstar in the tennis world, winning four major titles. Jannik Sinner has always stepped up on big occasions. In an interview with the ATP at the Cincinnati Open, Daren Cahill said, “That’s why we are so proud as coaches, because all that work you’ve been doing for the past three years eventually shows up in a big match, at a big tournament, for him to be able to get through and win that match.”

He further added, “So, it’s not just four or five days when you can make those big changes. It’s the combination of a year or two of just pushing him day to day and making sure we continue to work on those things.” But having said that, Cahill pointed out that there is one thing which he needs to improve, i.e., his serve. According to him, Jannik Sinner needs to be able to hit more miles per hour on that first serve along with better direction.

Interestingly, after his match against Galan, Sinner also acknowledged his areas of improvement. First and foremost, he said, “Serve. I feel like that my serve is getting better. But I still feel like that we have some percentage we can aim to get better.” Following that, he went on to add that he also wants to improve his net game and drop shots. Seeing his performances so far in Cincinnati, how far do you think he can go this time? Toss us your prediction in a comment.