Sinner continues US Open title defence with dominant win vs. Popyrin

Top-seeded Italian Jannik Sinner demonstrated why he is the reigning champion, putting on a commanding performance to defeat Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round of the US Open on Thursday.

The victory was a statement of intent as Sinner continues his bid to defend his title and add to his growing list of accolades. The match was a masterclass in controlled aggression from Sinner, who hit 26 winners and six aces while keeping his unforced errors to just 20.

Sinner’s clutch performance on break points was a defining factor, as he converted all five of his break point opportunities. His opponent, Popyrin, was unable to secure a single break of serve throughout the match.

Sinner effective on serve

Other numbers highlighting that the score might be severe : Alexei Popyrin, who also had 20 unforced errors, along came with a solid 22 winners. But Sinner was particularly effective on his serve, winning an impressive 80% of his first-serve points and 60% of his second-serve points.

Popyrin, who had upset defending champion Novak Djokovic in the third round of last year’s US Open, was aiming to become the first man in the Open Era to defeat reigning champions at the US Open in back-to-back years, but he could not find a way to challenge the in-form Italian.

This match also served as a moment of redemption for Sinner, who had a 0-1 head-to-head record against Popyrin coming into the tournament (Round of 32 at the 2021 Madrid Masters, 7-6(5), 6-2). With the win, the 23-year-old Italian improved his stunning record against players ranked outside the Top 20 since the start of the 2024 season to 66-1.

Sinner – Shapovalov next

The victory extends his winning streak on hard courts at the Grand Slam level to 22 matches, with his last loss coming against Alexander Zverev in the fourth round of the 2023 US Open.

Sinner is now 21-1 in Grand Slams this year, with his only loss being to Carlos Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final, a match where he held three championship points. Sinner is also on track to become the second man in history to win both the Australian Open and US Open in back-to-back years, a feat last accomplished by Roger Federer in 2006-07.

Sinner will now face the No. 27 seed, Canadian Denis Shapovalov, who defeated French wildcard Valentin Royer 7-6(6), 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 to advance to the third round.

New York (Grand Slam), other second-round results (USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, hard, USD 90.000.000, most recent results first):

• Nuno Borges vs. Tommy Paul
• Alexander Zverev vs. Jacob Fearnley
• Shintaro Mochizuki vs. Alex De Minaur
• Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Daniel Altmaier
• Roman Safiullin vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
• Alexander Bublik vs. Tristan Schoolkate
• Gabriel Diallo vs. Jaume Munar
• Jenson Brooksby vs. Flavio Cobolli: thursday
• Leandro Riedi vs. Francisco Cerundolo: thursday
• Karen Khachanov vs. Kamil Majchrzak: thursday
• Denis Shapovalov beat Valentin Royer (WC): 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (4), 6-3
• Andrey Rublev (15) beat Tristan Boyer (WC): 6-3, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (4)
• Chak Lam Coleman Wong (Q) beat Adam Walton: 7-6 (5), 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
• Lorenzo Musetti (10) beat David Goffin: 6-4, 6-0, 6-2
• Ben Shelton (6) beat Pablo Carreno Busta: 6-4, 6-2, 6-4
• Zizou Bergs beat Jack Draper (5): W/O
• Carlos Alcaraz (2) beat Mattia Bellucci: 6-1, 6-0, 6-3
• Jan-Lennard Struff (Q) beat Holger Rune (11): 7-6 (5), 2-6, 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
• Adrian Mannarino beat Jordan Thompson: 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3
• Luciano Darderi (32) beat Eliot Spizzirri (WC): 6-0, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-4
• Frances Tiafoe (17) beat Martin Damm (Q): 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (8), 7-5
• Ugo Blanchet (Q) beat Jakub Mensik (16): 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7)
• Arthur Rinderknech beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (18): 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3
• Cameron Norrie beat Francisco Comesana: 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-7, 7-6 (4)
• Benjamin Bonzi beat Marcos Giron: 2-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4
• Taylor Fritz (4) beat Lloyd Harris (Q): 4-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-4
• Raphael Collignon beat Casper Ruud (12): 6-4, 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
• Tomas Machac (21) beat Joao Fonseca: 7-6 (4), 6-2, 6-3
• Novak Djokovic (7) beat Zachary Svajda (Q): 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, 6-1
• Jiri Lehecka (20) beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry: 3-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-4
• Jerome Kym (Q) beat Brandon Nakashima (30): 4-6, 7-6 (2), 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (8)