Jannik Sinner vs. Nicolás Jarry
Getting back to competition will likely be a relief for Sinner, who hasn’t played a match since Davis Cup last November. Filling that void has been a lot of unwanted chatter about his failed doping test and (lack of) suspension from 2024. Now the world No. 1 can block all of that out for a few hours, as he gets his title defense underway.
As excited as Sinner will be to play, he may not relish this matchup in particular. He’ll be second up in Laver, against one of the highest-ranked players he could have faced in the first round. Jarry is No. 34 in the world; two spots higher and he would have been seeded. The 29-year-old Chilean was also ranked 16th as recently as last May, has three titles to his name, and made the quarterfinals at his first event of 2025, in Brisbane.
Sinner and Jarry are 1-1 against each other. Jarry’s win came on grass back in 2019, when Sinner was 17. The Italian’s came a few months ago on hard courts in Beijing, but Jarry won the first set.
At 6-foot-7, with a strong serve and a heavy, attacking forehand, Jarry can give any opponent trouble. But whatever his weakness is, it shows up most clearly in best-of-five at the majors. He’s 10-19 at the Slams for his career, and he lost in the first round at all four of them in 2024.
Sinner will need to take his chances to break, whenever they come. But with his own, constantly improving serve and return, and superior ground strokes, he’s equipped to do it. At the last Slam, in New York, he also showed that he’s equipped to block out whatever noise is buzzing around him. Winner: Sinner
