Jannik Sinner Shares Glimpse Into His Champion Mindset at US Open: 'I Am Not Defending… I Am Always Chasing'

Jannik Sinner claims that he is in New York not to defend his US Open title, but to chase it. He understands that every tournament is different, that even though he has conquered it in the past, it won’t make much difference if he doesn’t focus on the present and doesn’t give his best.

Sinner moved past his first and second round opponents, Vit Kopriva and Alexei Popyrin, without much efforts. Popyrin, who was responsible for ending Novak Djokovic’s title defense last year, was no match for the first seed.

Sinner is bidding to defend a Grand Slam title for the second time in his career. He successfully defended his crown at the Australian Open by defeating Alexander Zverev. Sinner doesn’t think the experience of that title defense is going to help him at Flushing Meadows, as also the conditions at the US Open are different than the Australian Open. He said at the press conference:

You know, as I always say, I’m not defending. You know, l’m always chasing, because every tournament you start with zero on the first round, and if you don’t play well, you are out of the tournament. You know, you are chasing for the trophies or good performances, and that’s what I’m trying to do. Obviously, I know how much is on the line here in this tournament and also for the year-end, but in the other way, I’m looking to play as good as I can. Then we see the outcome. The rest I cannot really control.

After Melbourne, Sinner denied Carlos Alcaraz the three-peat at Wimbledon with a four-set win in the final. So far this season, the 24-year-old has featured in five finals and clinched two titles. Before arriving in New York, Sinner gave the walkover win to Alcaraz in the final of the Cincinnati Open because of an illness.

If Sinner wins the tournament, he will become the first player since 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer (2008) to defend the US Open. Last year in the tournament, he stopped Taylor Fritz from ending American men’s Grand Slam drought with a straight-set win in the final.

Jannik Sinner is expecting a tough match against Denis Shapovalov

Denis Shapovalov was the reason why Jannik Sinner couldn’t reach the second round of the 2021 Australian Open, as in a five-set encounter, the Canadian ace knocked out the Italian. But at present, the World No.1 is nearly invincible as he is rarely losing matches, and in those cases, most of the time, Carlos Alcaraz was his opponent.