A nice little workout. That was all Jannik Sinner needed in the first round of the US Open. After crumbling to a crash in the final of the Cincinnati Open against arch-rival Carlos Alcaraz, the ATP No. 1 needed to clear up any qualms with an easy start to the final major of the year.
He got that against overwhelmed Vit Kopriva. The 28-year-old was likely just happy to be in New York. He has never won a singles title, but still tries to make a living doing what he loves: Playing tennis. The Czech just has never done it at the level Jannik Sinner can do.
Sinner shook off any remnants of the illness he came down with in Cincinnati. After playing well until the final, Sinner fell down 0-5 to Alcaraz and was forced to retire. Against Kopriva, the Italian moved with ease, played basically a glorified practice session, and was never close to being challenged.
Jannik Sinner into the second round of the US Open after defeating Vit Kopriva
In the first set, Kopriva had zero aces but five double faults. He might have tried to overhit to try to compete with Sinner, but the Czech does not have the power to do so. His serves were close to 100 mph, far slower than most players on the tour.
The second set was only slightly better. He had two aces and two double faults, but he was broken three times. While Sinner was playing efficient tennis, Kopriva kept piling up his unforced errors. He had to do something to try to stay in the match, but everything he attempted failed. It was a brutal struggle.
After taking the first two sets 6-1 6-1, Korpiva held in his first service game of set three. While no comeback was going to be in order, perhaps the final set would be closer. It was. Slightly. Sinner got a break early and held, even though he faced two break points, to get to 5-2. He then got another break to finish off the third set 6-2.
Jannik Sinner's second-round match would appear to be much more difficult, however. He will likely face Alexei Popyrin (who had a two-set lead at the time of this writing). Popyrin has ranked inside the top 20 before and defeated Sinner in their only meeting. That was in 2021, however. Many things have changed since then, including Sinner winning four Grand Slams.