Stan Wawrinka, Jannik Sinner set US Open reunion four years after Italian's major debut

Four years ago at the US Open, Stan Wawrinka met Jannik Sinner in the Italian’s major main-draw debut. The three-time major champion was pushed by a newly-minted 18-year-old qualifier over four competitive sets inside Louis Armstrong Stadium, a showcase that foreshadowed much bigger things on the horizon for the Italian.

Come Saturday, the two will clash again at Flushing Meadows with Sinner stepping into the role as the favorite on paper.

Back on Armstrong, the world No. 6 cruised past countryman Lorenzo Sonego, 6-4, 6-2, 6-4, impressively winning 24 of 30 points on his second serve to wrap up the win after two hours and five minutes. Through his first two rounds, Sinner is yet to drop serve while converting 10 breaks.

Earlier this month, Sinner unlocked a milestone when he celebrated his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto. The success came weeks after the 22-year-old punched his maiden major semifinal ticket at Wimbledon, ultimately falling to Novak Djokovic.

Beyond his Canadian triumph, Sinner has thrived on outdoor hard courts throughout the 2023 season. He narrowly lost to eventual runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Australian Open fourth round over five sets. Across the Sunshine Double, he traded wins with Carlos Alcaraz—losing to his budding rival in the semifinals of Indian Wells but flipping the script to contest a second Miami Open final in three years.

Against Wawrinka, Sinner has taken the reins of their battles. Having lost their first two showdowns, the San Candido native has won three straight—including two this year in decisive fashion at Rotterdam and Indian Wells.

The 2016 champion was made to work in his second-round battle with No. 30 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry, but navigated his way past the Roland Garros quarterfinalist, 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7), 6-3, 6-2. Wawrinka hit the reset button after missing a set point on his serve in the second-serve tiebreaker, finishing his day on Court 17 with 47 winners to 56 unforced errors.

Following a busy July on the red clay that saw Wawrinka capture the doubles title in Gstaad with Dominic Stricker and advance to the Umag singles final, the 38-year-old opted to play one hard-court event prior to Flushing Meadows. He defeated Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe in Cincinnati, before going down to Max Purcell.

Wawrinka has now played 60 US Open singles matches, coming out on the winning end 46 times. The 76.6 percent success rate is his best among the four Grand Slam events.

The future Hall of Famer is looking to get to the second week of a major for the first time since undergoing a pair of left-foot surgeries in 2021. The Swiss has matched his strongest showing thus far, a third-round effort at this year’s Wimbledon.