Jannik Sinner always has his goals defined. In his first appearance since turning into the new king of grass, at Wimbledon, the Italian made a sensational return on Saturday, marking his arrival at the Cincinnati Open. The defending champion of this Masters 1000 event looked as if he had never left the court (despite a month-long break). While he’s making sure his form in singles is as fluid as possible ahead of the US Open, the challenge has ‘doubled’ this season.
The world No.1 will also be seen flaunting his racket in mixed doubles at Flushing Meadows to ultimately claim a $1 million lucrative reward. He will step onto the court with American WTA star Emma Navarro. But the question is: is he feeling overwhelmed going into this uncharted territory? Sinner kicked off his Cincinnati campaign in style as he bested his first-round rival Daniel Elahi Galán in just 59 minutes. For the record, that’s his fastest win of the season.
After wrapping up the match with a double breadstick, Sinner sat down with Tennis Channel’s Prakash Amritraj to talk about his performance. However, the host was more interested in what’s coming next after Cincinnati. Prakash was more curious to know how Sinner felt about his mixed doubles stint with Navarro. Was he feeling pressurized given that he still has his singles title to defend as well at the US Open? The conversation was quite lighthearted, but Sinner tried to stay composed, “Yeah. It is. I really don’t know what to say. Hopefully, it’s gonna be fun and I am quite sure about that.” He added, “The lineups are amazing, every lineup is just amazing to players. And I feel honored and happy to be also there in the lineup.”
Image Credits: Reuters
Oozing confidence in his partner Navarro, and himself too, the four-time slam winner said, “We will try our best. I haven’t played too many doubles a long time. I never played mixed. So it’s gonna be interesting to see.” While he’s “looking forward to it”, Sinner also knows that he might be the one doing most of the heavy lifting playing with Navarro. Making a hilarious admission, he concluded, “We hope. Pressure is on me.”
This story is developing…
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