ATP Tour

Sinner sweeps through US Open R1

Will Jannik Sinner become the first man to successfully defend his US Open title since Roger Federer in 2008?

The reigning champion made an impressive start to answering that question with a yes in New York on Tuesday afternoon, when he dispatched Czech Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round.

Sinner looked fresh throughout the one-hour, 38-minute clash in his first appearance since he was forced to retire in the Cincinnati final against Carlos Alcaraz earlier this month. The top seed moved freely and struck with precise depth to rush Kopriva, who struggled to cope with the Italian’s clean ball striking on Arthur Ashe Stadium in the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.

"I feel in good shape physically," Sinner said. "It has been some good practice days, especially the last couple. I feel physically in a good spot. Also it was a good first-round match, so I'm very happy."

The road to a repeat begins 💪

Defending champion @janniksin moves past Kopriva in the first round of the #USOpen @usopen pic.twitter.com/WQQeaMUQwe

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 26, 2025

Sinner has won the past three hard-court majors, triumphing at the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025 and in Flushing Meadows in 2024. The Italian, who received a brief medical timeout for an issue on his finger at the closing stages of the third set, will look to continue the march towards his fifth Slam and third of the season against face Alexei Popyrin after the Australian beat Emil Ruusuvuori 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(3).

With his win, Sinner stayed on course in the battle for World No. 1 with Alcaraz. If Alcaraz reaches the same round as Sinner or outperforms his rival in New York, he will return to No. 1 for the first time since 10 September 2023. Sinner must also advance to at least the third round.

In other action, 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti earned a 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 comeback win against Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard to record just his second win since his semi-final showing at Roland Garros in June.

Musetti won 49 per cent of points on the Frenchman’s second serve and was solid behind his own delivery, not facing a break point en route to his two-hour, 36-minute win. The Italian will play Quentin Halys or David Goffin in the second round.

Denis Shapovalov also advanced, downing Winston-Salem champion Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 6-4, 6-0. The 27th-seeded Canadian reached the quarters in New York in 2020, and he has won two tour-level titles this year. Alexander Bublik also earned victory, defeating former champion Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-1, 6-4.