Jannik Sinner received a lot of attention at this year's US Open, but not because he is the world's No. 1 player on the ATP Tour. Instead, he arrived at Flushing Meadows with recent controversies, involving two positive tests for banned substances in March but no suspension.
There have been explanations from Sinner himself and related organizations that he was not at fault for being contaminated with banned substances, but clearly, his journey at the US Open will be closely monitored.
There are speculations that what happened could negatively affect Sinner, while others think the opposite, because it becomes a motivation for the 23-year-old tennis player.
And the interesting thing is, both of those views were expressed in Sinner's opening match on the morning of August 28 (Vietnam time). With the way the match started, it seemed like Sinner was bothered by the controversy.
He didn't play badly, but he didn't show his tennis at its peak. It must also be said that McDonald had a solid first set and played really well in set 1.
Sinner finished that opening set with 14 unforced errors and that's why he lost 2-6. But since set 2, even though she opened with a broken break, gradually, things went much better, as Sinner made more precise shots, limiting errors.
Sinner won again 6-2 thanks to more solid play and better ball control, while McDonald made 19 unforced errors.
And when Sinner gets going, everything goes against the opponent on the other side of the net. In the next 2 sets, Sinner won 6-1, 6-2.
"I didn't start in the best way. The first match is never easy. You have to accept that," Sinner said after the match, "He played very well from the beginning. I tried to keep Stay strong, try to keep up the pace. This is the first time I won on this field (Arthur Ashe), so I'm very happy."
Also in the series of matches taking place in the early morning of August 28 (Vietnam time), Daniil Medvedev also needed 4 sets to overcome Dusan Lazovic, while No. 11 seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas, suddenly had to say goodbye in the first round when he lost to Thanasi. Kokkinakis after 4 sets.
In the women's singles, current top players such as Iga Swiatek and Elena Rybakina all won tickets to continue after only 2 sets. Big names Naomi Osaka and Caroline Wozniacki also have tickets to the second round.
