NEW YORK — Jannik Sinner got broken for the first time in Week 1 of the US Open. Dropped the opening set, even. Fell way behind in the third set, too.
«I'm not a machine, you know,» he said with the hint of a smile Saturday. «I also struggle, sometimes.»
Still, Sinner is the No. 1-ranked player in men's tennis and has won the past three Grand Slam tournaments played on hard courts, so no one was surprised when he set aside some lapses and emerged to beat No. 27 Denis Shapovalov 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on Saturday to take his title defense at Flushing Meadows to the fourth round.
«That I have pressure and tension is normal. I've had that for a year, and you need to handle it,» Sinner said. «Either you handle it — or you don't.… It's better to have to deal with that than not.»
On Monday, Sinner will face No. 14 Tommy Paul of the United States or No. 23 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan for a place in the quarterfinals.
Sinner's latest triumph secured his 10th consecutive round of 16 major appearances and stretched his hard-court unbeaten run at Slams to 24 matches, covering championships at the US Open in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025. He also won the trophy at Wimbledon on grass courts in July.
But Sinner's set streak in New York ended; he had claimed 14 in a row since dropping one in a victory against 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals a year ago.
Sinner explained that his serve did not feel quite right Saturday, and that Shapovalov was reading it well.
«I was able to put pressure on Jannik today,» Shapovalov said, «so who says that another player can't do the same?»
Sinner double-faulted to close the opening set, which earlier featured a remarkable 30-stroke point in which both men hit drop
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