WHAT HAPPENED: Top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner of Italy extended his hardcourt Grand Slam winning streak to 24 on Saturday at the 2025 US Open, avoiding an upset bid from No. 27 Denis Shapovalov, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, in Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Returning to the Round of 16 for the fifth year in a row, Sinner is looking to become only the fourth man to reach five consecutive Grand Slam finals in the Open Era after Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Shapovalov had taken their only previous encounter, a five-set opening-round marathon at the Australian Open in 2021. But Sinner is a much different player four years later, a four-time major singles titlist.
“It was a very, very tough match today,” said Sinner, with his orange-clad Carota Boys rooting section cheering him on. “I’ve known Denis for quite a while, so I knew that I would have to play at a high level today. I’m very happy that I managed to win. He started off very well. I just tried to stay there mentally.”
The 29th-ranked Shapovalov was bidding to be the lowest-ranked man to defeat a world No. 1 here since No. 37 Arnaud Clement took out Andre Agassi in the second round in 2000. He has been a fan-favorite in Flushing Meadows since 2017 when, as a free-swinging 18-year-old qualifier, he became the youngest player to reach the Round of 16 since American Michael Chang in 1989.
It was high-quality tennis right from the start: Neither player surrendered a point through the first three games of the match. But Shapovalov, one of only three players to win multiple tour-level hard-court titles this season (Dallas, Los Cabos), would make the most of his first break-point chance. A forehand pass with his opponent serving at 1-2, 30-40 would give the lefthander the early edge.
With the former world No. 10 serving for the set ahead 5-3, Sinner capped an epic 30-ball scramble by lofting a backhand overhead beyond Shapovalov’s reach to set up a break point of his own. He pounced on the opportunity, and subsequently consolidated for 5-all. However, with the 24-year-old Sinner serving to stay in the set at 5-6, 30-40, he coughed up the 53-minute opener with an untimely double fault, one of five on the day.
Sinner would right his ship in the second set, breaking for 4-3, wresting the momentum from his challenger.
All smiles when warming up side by side on the Ashe Stadium cement prior to the match, these foes were all business when it came to the third-round proceedings. After Shapovalov, at 17-8 the all-time winningest Canadian man at this tournament, sprinted ahead 3-0 in the third, Sinner responded with six unanswered games of his own to move ahead two sets to one.
Sinner would pocket his sixth and final service break of the match to pull ahead for good in the fifth set at 2-0.
“Week two is completely different. You see less people behind the scenes. That’s always a great sign that I’m still here,” said Sinner. “It’s getting tougher and tougher physically and mentally. It’s obviously a special place for me. The first time that I played main draw in a Grand Slam was here, and I won last year.”
WHAT IT MEANS: Next up for Sinner is either American Tommy Paul or red-hot Kazakh Alexander Bublik, who are scheduled to face off in Ashe on Saturday night. Paul hopes to join his countryman Fritz in the fourth round, while Bublik is riding a 10-match winning streak that includes consecutive ATP 250 titles in Gstaad and Kitzbuhel.
MATCH POINT: Sinner has sat atop the ATP Rankings for 64 consecutive weeks, since first rising to No. 1 in June 2024. However, due to his title defense, he needs to go further in the tournament than rival Carlos Alcaraz to remain at the top. Alcaraz, who became first teen No. 1 after claiming the 2022 US Open title, aims to return to the top for the first time since September 2023.
