On Monday, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner retired late in the first set of his Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz.
At the time of Sinner’s retirement, chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani revealed to fans in attendance that the four-time Grand Slam champ was retiring due to an illness; however, little was known about the extent of the situation.
Now, according to an article published in Italian on EuroSport, Sinner started dealing with flu-like symptoms on Sunday. Much like he explained to fans during the trophy presentation on Monday, he and his team hoped that he would feel better by the morning.
Instead, according to EuroSport, things went from bad to worse, and the world No. 1 went into the highly anticipated final against Alcaraz sporting a 38°C (100.4°F) fever.
Unsurprisingly, after retiring against Alcaraz, Sinner subsequently wound up withdrawing from the US Open Mixed Doubles event that kicked off on Tuesday, which he was set to play with Katerina Siniakova following the withdrawal of Emma Navarro.
Jannik Sinner Speaks About Upcoming US Open Following Retirement
Despite his withdrawal from the US Open’s new pre-tournament mixed doubles event, Jannik Sinner still has his sights set on defending his singles title.
Following his retirement against Alcaraz on Monday, the world No. 1 indicated to ATPTour.com that he plans to take a couple of days to recover before the start of the tournament.
So long as he’s physically fit, the Italian star will then look to go back-to-back at Flushing Meadows.
“US Open is going to be tough tournament, but in the same time, I’m looking forward to it. If I’m ready, physically and mentally, I will be ready to push. So as I said, now a couple of days of recovery, and then we get again back to work, and hopefully we’ll be ready. So [that is] for sure, the main goal here in the US.”
First-round action at the US Open will begin on Sunday, Aug. 24, with action continuing on Aug. 25.
Sinner Thanks Fans for Support Following Carlos Alcaraz Match
Although Jannik Sinner made a point of apologizing to fans during the trophy presentation, following Monday’s match the world No. 1 took to social media on Tuesday morning, once again apologizing to fans and thanking them for their support.
Additionally, in a show of good sportsmanship, Sinner congratulated Alcaraz and his team, who refrained from celebrating on Monday.
In a post on Twitter, the Italian star wrote:
“Yesterday I didn’t feel great and I’m really sorry to disappoint you. Thank you so much to everyone supporting me on-site and from home, your support means the world. Congrats to @carlosalcaraz and his team, you’re having an incredible season and I wish you all the best for what’s ahead. Now it’s time to rest a couple of days before getting back to work.”
Fortunately for Sinner and his team, despite the fact that his retirement on Monday ended his bid to go back-to-back in Cincinnati, he still sits nearly a full 2,000 ranking points ahead of Carlos Alcaraz heading into the US Open, where he’ll look to defend his championship points from last year.
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