É«É«À²

Took the opening set off the Italian at the U.S. Open after Sinner hadn’t dropped more than three games in a single set across his first two rounds, and had not been broken through Week 1 of the Grand Slam. And the crowd-pleasing Canadian, after that superb set, came this close to going up two sets to one, at three games to love, before flashes of wild ShapovalovÌý— where three of his nine double faults in the match came in one gameÌý— let dreamy fancy of a gobsmacking upset slip away atÌýArthur Ashe Stadium.

The best men’s tennis player on the planet rediscovered just enough of his steely form to see off the 26-year-old lefty from Richmond Hill, escaping 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3. While Shapovalov never recovered from a break back in the fourth game of that third frame as a stabilized Sinner went on a nine-game hummer.

â€Àát’s a tough loss,’’ Shapovalov said afterward. “He’s No. 1 for a reason. IÌýhad my chance. Was up in the first set.’’Ìý

They don’t come often against an opponent like Sinner, looking to become the first defending champion to repeat at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer reeled off five titles in a row from 2004 to 2008.

Though tennis abandon is a signature of Shapovalov’s side, what this marquee match needed was more of his gunslinger attitude in the crunchy moments. Fifteen aces versus just two from Sinner, but his first serve went wayward with only 52 per cent in, 3-for-6 on break points (Sinner was 6-for-13) and a ruinous 47 unforced errors.

Still, it was taut through three sets, certainly not the level of tennis Sinner will require to notch a fourth Slam triumph and stay ahead of rival Carlos AlcarazÌý— to whom he lost in the Roland-Garros final earlier this yearÌý— atop the world rankings.

Shapovalov denied being too mad at himself after botching it in the third set: “Honestly, I wouldn’t say that I got too upset today. I started maybe to struggle a little bit more on my serve. I felt that it went away a little bit at that moment.

â€Àá was just trying to find a way to kind of get it back to the way it was, especially in the first and the second set.’’

A preview of the ultimate outcome was provided in that second set when Shapovalov double-faulted for the third time, broken at 4-3, as Sinner’s serve settled down and his shotmaking became more accurate. Shapovalov held with an ace at 5-4, but Sinner served out to take the set.

“Mentally, I stayed pretty good throughout the match and I’ve done really well,’’ stressed Shapovalov, who continues to move up the rankings (inside the top 30) since returning from a six-month absence due to a knee injury. â€Àá would say the entire season I’ve grown a lot mentally. ±õ³Ù’s a big reason why I’m able to produce this level, and it’s a big reason why I’ve been able to win three titles in the last 12 months. I’m able to facilitate a certain level throughout the tournament on good days, bad days. I’m able to figure out a way to produce that level that unfortunately wasn’t (there) the whole match today.

“We were going toe to toe; a lot of games were very close. I’ve shown before, and it’s great that I’m able to show again, that I do have a big game. I amÌý— I don’t want to say a threat to players. But when I am playing well, it’s not easy to play against me.’’

Sinner certainly recognized that he dodged a bullet: “There are players that have more qualities or potential and he’s one of them. When he serves very well and he has very clean groundstrokes, physically very strong, he has everything to hurt players. I knew that before the match.

â€Àát was a great match from both sides. It was a bit of a roller-coaster.’’

But he got clinically ruthless engineering that midmatch pivot, on the scoreboard and in accelerating momentum.

In the round of 16, the ginger Italian will meet the victor of Saturday’s late match between Alexander Bublik and Tommy Paul. Bublik, from Kazakhstan, is the only player other than Alcaraz who’s beaten Sinner this year, on grass in June.

â€Àá’m not a machine, you know,’’ Sinner, 24, told reporters, addressing how Shapovalov had almost got the best of him. â€Àá also struggle sometimes.’’