The main obstacle facing the world number one as he attempts to cap off a brilliant 2024 is fitness, as evidenced by Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal from the Montreal Masters.

In the Canadian Open quarterfinals in Montreal, Andrey Rublev overcame Sinner 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 by enduring a second set meltdown.

The Russian stormed ahead of the reigning champion in the opening set, but a half-hour rain delay stopped him in his tracks.

After the interval, the Italian came back and won the second set without having to face a break point.

But in the third set, Rublev turned the tables, turning away five break point chances in the first game to take a 3-0 lead.

With that lead, he eventually won the third set and secured his place in the semi-finals.

“It was one of my extremely excellent matches. Rublev told the ATP, “I was playing really well today, and I’m happy that I was able to win.”

“I’m not sure, not much to say, as I’m still in the Honestly, I have no idea what’s going on because Jannik is a terrific player who has been playing at an incredible level for the previous two years.

“All I wanted was to show him that I could play excellent tennis and fight with him.” Ultimately, I believe we had a large number of long rallies.

“Obviously, winning a match like this is always wonderful, and I needed those matches, especially after some difficult times this year. Naturally, I’m happy.

Sinner’s main source of concern seems to be a minor ache that could be connected to the hip issue that hindered him in the lead-up to the French Open.

Due to a hip problem, he was unable to compete in his “home” Masters tournament in Rome. Although he did well to go to the semifinals of Roland Garros, he was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz after experiencing physical difficulties in the latter part of that match.

Then, suffering from what turned out to be tonsillitis, Sinner nearly withdrew from Wimbledon in his match against Daniil Medvedev in the round of eight.

Due to this, Sinner was unable to compete in the Olympics. Although he displayed glimpses of his extraordinary best in Montreal, this loss to Rublev raised further concerns about Sinner’s capacity to handle the physical demands of the tennis circuit.

Sinner is still getting used to the strain of starting every tournament as one of the favorites, so there is extra pressure every time he takes the court.

Sinner will be very concerned if his hip issue from earlier this year is what caused him agony while playing in Montreal. He was advised by doctors to rest the injury prior to his comeback at the French Open.

His participation in the Cincinnati Masters event next week must now be in question due to the US Open approaching, and best-of-five set matches at Flushing Meadows later this month will put Sinner’s physical limits to the test because hard courts are an unforgiving surface.

With Novak Djokovic probably playing the US Open without any warm-up events on US hard courts and Alcaraz expected to make his ATP Tour comeback in Cincinnati following his emotional journey at the Paris Olympics, Sinner’s two main rivals at Flushing Meadows are zero going into the year’s final major with their preparations tainted by their heroics in Paris.

However, the ATP rankings’ top two and third-ranked players don’t seem to have any injuries, which is essential for success in the grueling 2024 tennis season.

Who is the main rival of Jannik Sinner?

According to what we have witnessed in the first half of 2024, the person who keeps putting up obstacles in Sinner’s way seems to be just as difficult as any of his rivals.