How Jannik Sinner's US Open 2024 draw has fallen apart after two rounds ft. Carlos Alcaraz's shock exit
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner's 2024 US Open draw has fallen apart following rival Carlos Alcaraz's shock second-round exit. Both were in the top half of the men's singles draw and on a collision course to a potential semifinal showdown. However, the Spaniard's second-round loss completely changes things, with the Italian now the favorite at least on paper to reach the US Open men's singles final for the first time in his career.
Alcaraz had a dismal outing against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp in his late-night second-round match on Thursday, August 29. The Spaniard made an uncharacteristic 27 unforced errors, with 12 of them coming from his usually-reliable forehand. The reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion struggled with his first and second serves, allowing the Dutchman to convert six out of nine breakpoint opportunities.
Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur only other top 10 players in Jannik Sinner's half of US Open 2024 draw
Alcaraz's early Flushing Meadows elimination means that in terms of top-10 players in Jannik Sinner's half of the draw, only Russian Daniil Medvedev and Australian Alex de Minaur remain apart from the Italian himself.
Medvedev seems to have recovered from the slump he experienced before the US Open, with his campaigns at the National Bank Open in Montreal and the Cincinnati Open ending early. The former World No. 1 has looked rock-solid in New York, having won against Dusan Lajovic and Fabian Marozsan across the first two rounds.
The World No. 5 is set to face 22-year-old Flavio Cobolli, the No. 31 seed, next in a third-round meeting on Saturday, August 31. If Medvedev gets past the talented Italian, he will face either Nuno Borges or Jakub Mensik in the fourth round.
Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev may face each other in the quarterfinals, and the Italian would be wary of the Russian. Their last meeting in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships went Medvedev's way, despite Sinner having won against the Russian on five successive occasions before that, including his remarkable comeback win in the 2024 Australian Open final.
Meanwhile, Alex de Minaur is a potential semifinal opponent for Sinner at Flushing Meadows. The Italian would be less worried about the speedy Australian than he would be about Medvedev, courtesy of his resounding 7-0 lead over de Minaur in their ATP Tour head-to-head.
Jannik Sinner to lock horns with Christopher O'Connell in US Open 2024 3R; likely to run into Tommy Paul in 4R
Jannik Sinner's fourth-round opponent at the 2024 US Open is World No. 87 Christopher O'Connell, the Australian the Italian has faced twice on the ATP Tour. The pair's 1-1 head-to-head suggests that it might be a closer contest than it might look on paper.
If the World No. 1 comes out on top against O'Connell, he will likely face No. 14 seed Tommy Paul in the fourth round, who will play against Canadian qualifier Gabriel Diallo in his third-round matchup.
Sinner had a shaky start to his US Open campaign amid his doping controversy, dropping his opening set of the tournament to Mackenzie McDonald. However, since then, the Italian has yet to drop a set, sealing his third-round berth with a dominant 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 win against Alex Michelsen.