ATP Tour

Sinner puts pedal to the metal to escape Shapovalov at US Open

Jannik Sinner escaped his first sticky situation of the 2025 US Open in style on Saturday afternoon in New York.

The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings was given a stern test by Denis Shapovalov inside Arthur Ashe Stadium, but after saving a break point to avoid falling 0-4 in the third set, Sinner powered to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 victory. The Italian was typically clinical in engineering a dramatic mid-match shift in momentum that included him winning nine consecutive games to turn a potential upset into an ultimately comfortable third-round win.

“It was a very, very tough match today,” said Sinner in his on-court interview. “I’ve known Denis for quite a while, so I knew that I would have to play at a high level today. I’m very happy that I managed to win. He started off very well. I just tried to stay there mentally.”

Sweet sixteen bound in NYC 👏@usopen | #USOpen | @janniksin pic.twitter.com/GbZgI3gz47

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 30, 2025

Sinner, who did not drop more than three games in a single set across his first two rounds at Flushing Meadows, won 12 of the final 15 games against Shapovalov to extend his winning streak at hard-court majors to 24 matches. With his three-hour, 12-minute triumph, the 24-year-old became the fourth-youngest man to win 20 matches at all four Grand Slam tournaments after Rafael Nadal, Boris Becker and Novak Djokovic.

“Week two is completely different. You see less people behind the scenes. That’s always a great sign that I’m still here,” said Sinner, looking forward to his fourth-round meeting with Tommy Paul or Alexander Bublik. “It’s getting tougher and tougher physically and mentally. It’s obviously a special place for me. The first time that I played main draw in a Grand Slam was here, and I won last year.”

The 27th-seeded Shapovalov made an impressive start to Saturday’s third-round clash, but he was unable to counter once he let slip his third-set lead. The Canadian’s victory bid was undermined by his nine double faults, including three in a single game to crucially hand Sinner a break for 4-3 in the third set.

Although not up to his clean-hitting best for much of the first half of the match, the way Sinner upped his level to close out his win was emphatic. He laid the foundations with his serving: The 20-time tour-level champion won 84 per cent (54/64) of points behind his first serve overall en route to levelling his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Shapovalov at 1-1.

Now 34-4 for the season, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Sinner will take on 14th seed Paul or 23rd seed Bublik on Monday for a quarter-final spot. Aside from Carlos Alcaraz, who has defeated Sinner three times in 2025, Bublik is the only other man to have won against the Italian in 2025: The Kazakhstani edged Sinner in three sets on the Halle grass in June.

Aiming to become the first player to defend the US Open men’s singles title since Roger Federer in 200, Sinner’s latest victory has also kept alive his hopes of remaining World No. 1 after the US Open. He must outperform Alcaraz at the New York major in order to prevent the Spaniard from reclaiming top spot.