New Delhi, Aug 10 (IANS) World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open with a right knee injury, tournament organisers confirmed on Sunday, dealing another setback to the Italian's preparations for this month's US Open.
The 24-year-old player has already withdrawn from the Canadian Open, another important hard-court tournament coming up before the final Grand Slam of the year. Having won his fifth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon last month, he had hoped that his tour in North America would give him a boost ahead of his defence of his US Open title.
"After consulting with my doctors and my team, I have to announce that I need to withdraw from the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati," Sinner said in a statement.
"My right knee has been bothering me and even though we have been working hard with my medical team, I have to accept that I'm not ready to compete yet."
Sinner conveyed how disappointed he was to have missed yet another major tournament, but added that his current focus was on recovering so as to be ready for the US Open.
""I'm very disappointed not to be able to play in Cincinnati... I can't wait to be back next year and I'm now focusing on getting ready for the U.S. Open."
The withdrawal also serves to weaken a tennis team in Cincinnati which was already depleted, since US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz has been ruled out following a wrist injury. The fact that Sinner is absent means that the world No. 1 will have had only limited opportunities to prepare for competition on hard courts before the US Open, which takes place later this month.
Moreover, his choice underlines the need to exercise caution as he deals with the knee problem after the demanding first part of the season. The main draw of the Cincinnati Open starts on August 13, whereas the main draw of the US Open begins on August 30. Sinner will now have just over two weeks in which to recover and get back to full fitness before the year's final Grand Slam.
--IANS
