I am not a machine, says Sinner after challenging third-round win

The world No.1 and defending champion comes through his first big test against Canada’s Shapavalov

- Shahid Judge

There was something different about Jannik Sinner on Saturday night. He did not exude his usual air of invincibility. He felt more human.

“I’m not a machine,” he would say later. “I also struggle sometimes.”

In his first two matches at the US Open, Sinner barely put a foot wrong as he stormed past opponents without conceding more than three games in a set.

But at the Arthur Ashe Stadium in the third round, he came up against Canada’s Denis Shap-ovaloy, a southpaw who plays only in the fifth gear. Though Sinner eventually battled to a 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 win, the Italian world No.1 showed signs of vulnerability.

“You cannot always go (through) with the scoreline easy,” Sinner said at the post-match press conference. “Every match is so difficult. Every challenge is so difficult. Then there are players that have more qualities or potential, and (Shapova-lov is) one of them. When he serves very well and he has very clean groundstrokes, physically very strong, he has everything to hurt players.”