Believe in the sleeve: Jannik Sinner brings Wimbledon wearable to Cincinnati Open

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Believe in the sleeve: Sinner brings Wimbledon wearable to Cincinnati Open

Italian is defending Cincinnati champion, having beaten Tiafoe in final last year

Whitman/Cincinnati Open Jannik Sinner has won majors at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year but is searching for his first ATP Masters 1000 title of the season in Cincinnati. By Sam Jacot

A small but significant piece of Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon-winning wardrobe made a surprise appearance in Cincinnati this week: the protective sleeve on his right elbow.

First seen during his quarter-final match at Wimbledon, the sleeve became a fixture after Sinner tweaked his elbow in his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov. Despite the setback, the 23-year-old powered through to claim his fourth major title, raising the trophy in London with the sleeve still in place.

Many assumed the sleeve would be shelved along with the injury. But on Wednesday, when the 23-year-old stepped onto court to hit at the Cincinnati Open, his first event since Wimbledon, the sleeve was back. So, is the World No. 1 still carrying a knock?

“The elbow is good. Today was the first time that I put a sleeve on because I liked the feeling of the sleeve,” Sinner told the media on Wednesday in Ohio. “It gives a little bit more impact with the ball, it's slightly more stable. That's my point of view and I liked it in Wimbledon. I have to see how it is when it's very hot and humid, because it's a little bit different, so it's going to be something that I'm going to take into consideration, but I really love the feeling it gives of pure striking.”

Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final to improve to 5-8 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series . The past three times Sinner and Alcaraz have been in the same draw, they have met in the final, and they are seeded to meet in the title match in Cincinnati.

Alcaraz, currently No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings, leads Sinner by 1,540 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, which acts as the key barometer for the coveted ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours.

Sinner fell to Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final but gained revenge at Wimbledon, where he snapped a five-match losing streak against the Spaniard. Three and a half weeks on from his triumph, the Italian reflected on his London achievement.

“This one was very different also because what I had the Grand Slam before, what happened there and coming back and showing this kind of level also at times surprised me too,” said Sinner, who squandered three championship points at Roland Garros in June before clinching his first Wimbledon crown. "I'm very obviously very happy. I took some time off, seeing my family and friends and very important people. And after that, I got back to training, trying to be as ready as possible for this swing, which is very important too.”

Sinner, who is 26-3 on the year according to the Infosys ATP Stats Win/Loss Index, will meet Vit Kopriva or a qualifier in his opening match in Cincinnati, where he is the defending champion.

Off the court, the reigning Nitto ATP Finals champion has been stepping into new territory. In recent months, he’s launched a YouTube channel, sharing vlog-style content from various tournaments, including behind-the-scenes glimpses at Wimbledon.

“It is because people know us only as tennis players, they don't really know how we live," Sinner said. "And I believe every player is different in how we live in sport and in this case, tennis. And people know me as [serious on court], but it's actually not like this.

“I like to surround myself with good people and enjoy my time. With my family too at Wimbledon, it was nice. We're going to put out some different kinds of videos of what we made in the three months when I couldn't play any tournaments. So hopefully people enjoy and hopefully people get to know me better as a person.”

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