Jannik Sinner has regained his composure after coming back from an illness that kept him from playing at the 2024 Paris Olympics, winning the Cincinnati Open and earning impressive points after beating Frances Tiafoe in straight sets to extend his reign at the top spot of the ATP Rankings.

Now his eyes are on the next challenge ahead: the US Open.

At the age of 24, Sinner overcame Tiafoe in the final in just one hour and 37 minutes, moving up to a 15-4 record in tour-level finals. The Italian star now leads the ATP Tour with five trophies this season, sealing impressive victories in Melbourne, Rotterdam, Miami, and Halle. He is also the only player this season to come up with at least two ATP Masters 1000 crowns so far.

Sinner has been mostly hampered by his hip, often limping and even favoring it between points. Still, the Italian star proved to the world why he is the deserving world no. 1 player in the ATP Tour right now. Now the focus shifts to another tournament at hand – the last major of the year, the US Open.

A Tough Run Ending in Beauty

Sinner was not at 100% when he entered the competition so far, often showing his hip injury hampered him from time to time. However, he managed to stave off Tiafoe when it mattered most, working on his baseline play to come up with advantageous plays in closing sets to cap off a promising victory.

“It was a very difficult week, tough week. I'm very happy about about today's match,” Sinner said of his campaign in the Cincinnati Open. “It was very tough mentally. Had such an amazing run here, and I tried to do my best today. We both were quite tired from yesterday. We both felt a lot of tension, but I'm very glad about the level I played today, especially in the important moments.”

Sinner is now the youngest winner in the Cincinnati Open since Andy Murray, who won in 2008 at the age of 21. Sinner went on to save all three break points against Tiafoe to claim the big win that saw him emerge as the winner in the Final at 7-6(4), 6-2. The win also extends the Italian star’s lead at the ATP Rankings with 1,440 points to extend his lead over Spanish star and world no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz.

A Boatload of Confidence Heading to the US Open

Sinner has been pondering about his form in the game heading into the US Open. But with this win secured at the Cincinnati Open, it seems that the Italian star is more confident than ever heading into the hard-court major after he capped off a Masters 1000 title.

”Now, for sure, it's important to recover, to be to be ready for New York. This is our main goal here for this U.S. swing,” Sinner said of his pace heading into the US Open this weekend. “I’m very happy to be in a position where I am and just trying to keep going mentally, having this hunger to keep playing, and hopefully I can show some good tennis also New York.”

For now, Sinner takes his time to rest and practice at the same time in preparation of the US Open, which will be considered as the closing run of all majors in the 2024 ATP Tour and possibly one of the hyped and intense battles to look out for in the season.