Jannik Sinner drops a set in a US Open win and then reminds folks that he's not a machine

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NEW YORK (AP) — Jannik Sinner got broken for the first time in Week 1 of the U.S. Open. Dropped the opening set, even. Fell way behind in the third set, too.

“I’m not a machine, you know,” he said with the hint of a smile Saturday. “I also struggle, sometimes.”

Hmmm. Sure, Jannik, maybe so. Still, Sinner is the No. 1-ranked player in men's tennis and has won the past three Grand Slam tournaments played on hard courts, so no one was surprised when he set aside some lapses and emerged to beat No. 27 Denis Shapovalov 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 Saturday to take his title defense at Flushing Meadows to the fourth round.

“That I have pressure and tension is normal. I’ve had that for a year, and you need to handle it,” the Italian said. “Either you handle it — or you don’t. ... It’s better to have to deal with that than not.”

On Monday, Sinner will face No. 23 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan for a place in the quarterfinals. Bublik beat No. 14 Tommy Paul of the United States 7-6 (5), 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-1 in a 3 1/2-hour match that ended at 1:16 a.m. Sunday.

Sinner's latest triumph stretched his hard-court unbeaten run at majors to 24 matches, covering championships at the U.S. Open in 2024 and the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025. He also won the trophy at Wimbledon on grass courts in July.

But Sinner's set streak in New York ended; he had claimed 14 in a row since dropping one in a victory against 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals a year ago.

Sinner explained that his serve did not feel quite right Saturday, and that Shapovalov was reading it well.

“I was able to put pressure on Jannik today,” Shapovalov said, “so who says that another player can’t do the same?”

Sinner double-faulted to close the opening set, which earlier featured a remarkable 30-stroke point in which both men hit drop shots. Sinner took that point by sprinting back to the baseline and twisting his body to deliver a lob winner that floated just out of Shapovalov's reach.

After rebounding to even the match at a set apiece, Sinner found himself trailing 3-0, love-30 in the third after Shapovalov grabbed 14 of 17 points.

“Key moment,” Sinner would say later.

From there, he took nine games in a row to seize control.

“We were going toe to toe. It was a very close match. A lot of games were very close,” said Shapovalov, a left-hander from Canada who was a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2021. “He’s No. 1 for a reason. He dealt with it really well. He fights extremely well. He did a tremendous job to turn it around down 3-0 in the third there.”

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