Cincinnati men's final preview: Jannik Sinner vs. Frances Tiafoe

Jannik Sinner vs. Frances Tiafoe

Sinner seems impressed with his final-round opponent in Cincinnati.

“He’s playing very, very, very good, and then showing great tennis in the last few months,” the Italian said of the American. “He has found himself much, much, better on the court.”

It’s true, Tiafoe has been very good, and much better. To the point where he’s starting to give off Coco Gauff Summer of 2023 vibes.

Like Gauff, he acquired a new coach for the U.S. hard-court swing. In her case, it was Brad Gilbert, in his case it’s David Witt, former mentor of Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula. Like Gauff, Tiafoe has responded with a sudden surge in his results. She won in D.C., Cincinnati, and at the US Open. His rise hasn’t been quite as meteoric—he made the semis in D.C. and is in the final in Cincy—but it has been a big improvement.

“He’s super easygoing, you know,” Tiafoe said of his new coach to Tennis Channel. “Short kind of on information, but gives quality information and doesn’t try to overcoach. So it’s been it’s been super easy right away.”

“We’ve been getting along having a great time, we’re both a little weird in a way, where we just say off the jokes and stuff like that.”

Last year in Cincy, Gauff beat WTA No. 1 Iga Swiatek on her way to her first 1000-level title. On Monday, Tiafoe, who will be playing his first 1000 final, has a chance to match the same breakthrough when he faces the ATP’s No. 1, Sinner. So far this summer, Tiafoe has beaten Andrey Rubley and Lorenzo Musetti, and saved two match points—one on a net-cord winner—against Holger Rune on Sunday night. Adding Sinner to that list won’t be easy, but he has a chance.

Sinner is 3-1 against Tiafoe, though two of his wins came back in 2019, which qualifies as the Before Times in both of these guys’ careers. The fast courts in Cincy would seem to favor the hard-hitting Sinner, but Tiafoe’s speed, and strong serve, may come close to balancing that out. Both guys should be in similar shape physically, as they both won their semifinals—Tiafoe over Rune, Sinner over Alexander Zverev—in third-set tiebreakers.

The X factor may be Sinner’s hip, which he injured this spring, and which seemed to flare up at times in his semifinal against Zverev. But Sinner says it shouldn’t be a problem.

“For sure, sometimes I feel it,” he said. “I have to understand what exactly it is at the moment, because I feel like it’s a different small issue than it was before….It’s not bad. I’m not worried yet, so I’m happy to play.”

Sinner says that with the speed of the court, and the potential weariness of both guys, getting in the initial strike will be more crucial than ever.

“It’s gonna be a very physical match,” Sinner said. “So, you know, the recovery from now on is very important for tomorrow. And it’s gonna be, you know, the the first shots of the rally are gonna be as important as today.”

I’d like to make a surprise pick and take Tiafoe, because that would be a crowd-pleasing result, and would shake things up heading to New York. The atmosphere in Cincy will help him, the way they helped him make an unlikely comeback against Rune. But Sinner isn’t Rune, and as long as his hip is sturdy enough, these are the types of big finals he’s been winning for the last 10 months.

Winner: Sinner