Jannik Sinner on his interactions with fans and fellow players: “It’s still a little bit, not easy”

NEW YORK—When lower-ranked players face the stars of the sport, you often hear them say that they have “nothing to lose.” MacKenzie McDonald’s 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 loss to Jannik Sinner on Tuesday was a good example of why that attitude will only take you so far.

McDonald, who has been injured and is currently ranked 72nd, came in as a major underdog against the top seed. He had never beaten the Italian, and a fast US Open hard court seemed as if it would favor the bigger-hitting Italian. But that’s not it went for the first nine games.

Through the opening set and into the second, it was McDonald who was the more dynamic player. He was the one landing his returns near the baseline, finding the corners with his ground strokes, tracking down Sinner’s lasers, stealing into net, and playing with a pitch-perfect mix of pace and finesse. He broke Sinner three times, ran out the first set 6-2, and then broke again, with a backhand rifled up the line, to lead 1-0 in the second. It was McDonald, up to that point, who was using the court to his advantage by taking the ball early, and Sinner who was looking rushed.

According to Sinner, McDonald seemed to be reading his mind.

“I felt like he was playing some great tennis,” Sinner said. “Not missing any shots. I struggled a little bit how to play. You know, we prepared in one way which he read my game pretty well.”

You might not think there’s much difference between winning a set over a higher-ranked player, and going up a set and a break. But there is. You don’t really start to imagine winning the match, or see the finish line ahead, until you have that second-set break in hand. Unfortunately, once you see that finish line, you also start to feel your nerves in a new way. Now you really do have something to lose.

Rarely do you see that phenomenon as clearly as we did on Tuesday. When McDonald served at 1-0 in the second set, he put his first forehand into the net. It was just one shot, but he had hardly missed a ball up to that point. Then he hit another forehand long. Then he hit two more forehands into the net. Then he double faulted. Finally, on the third break point for Sinner, he hit yet another forehand into the net.

And that was essentially that. Sinner held and broke again right away, then ran out the set 6-2. The sharp, all-court rallies of the early games were gone, and McDonald had no answer for Sinner’s power.

“I started a little bit not in the best way,” Sinner said. “But the first matches aren’t easy. You have to accept it. I tried to stay there mentally and get into the rhythm.”

In the third set, things went from bad to worse for McDonald, as he began to decline physically as well. He hasn’t played a lot of long matches lately, and he told his team that he was “dying” at one stage. By the fourth set, McDonald had basically stopped competing and running for balls into the corners. The early excitement in Arthur Ashe Stadium was replaced by a dead, sad silence from the crowd, and a sense of bewilderment about what had happened to their countryman.

This was the first time Sinner had taken the court since his failed doping tests were revealed. There was a mix of noises—some cheers, some boos—when he walked into Ashe. He says the situation is “not easy” for him, and he’s taking it “day by day,” but he has been happy with the fan reaction overall.

“I was very glad how the support was, also playing against an American, no, it’s a little bit different,” he said. “So I’m happy how I handled those situations, it was not easy. So I think a lot of positive things from today's day.”

“I have room to improve.”

Sinner will try to do it a little better against another American, Alex Michelsen, on Thursday.