Jannik Sinner’s first win since his US Open triumph clearly meant more to him than most.

Sinner was forced to work hard as he beat Nicolas Jarry 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 in the first round of the China Open.

As he won the last point of the match, he pointed to the sky and appeared to get emotional, as this was a first win since his beloved auntie Meggi Rauchegger passed away.

Sinner mentioned his auntie in his US Open winners’ speech in New York earlier this month and he was eager to devote his second Grand Slam win to her memory.

“I would like to dedicate this title to my aunt because she is really not feeling well health-wise. I don’t know how much longer I still have her in my life,” said Sinner in New York.

“It’s so nice that I can share positive moments still with her. She was a very important person for my life and she still is.

“If there would be a biggest wish, I would wish everyone the best health, but unfortunately, it’s not possible.”

Sinner kept his emotions in check to see off the dangerous Jarry and he made some interesting comments about a key area of his game after the match was won.

We have not seen Sinner on a tennis court since his US Open win, but it is clear that he has been working hard on one big area of his game with coach Darren Cahill.

“The second serve I still have to improve a little bit,” he confirmed. From after US Open we worked very hard (on the serve).

“I’m happy about my process, obviously there is still a lot of room to improve.”

On the match against Jarry he added: “He played some very good tennis, the first set, he was serving very well, I was struggling to return his serve.

“I just tried to stay there mentally, first round is always tough, playing against him is very tough. Happy about the performance and how I ended the match.”

Jannik Sinner News

Daniil Medvedev: ‘When Sinner, Alcaraz play, you know it’s going to be tough’

Jannik Sinner reveals ‘one of my main goals’ for rest of 2024 after blockbuster season

Sinner has confirmed he will only play for more events in 2024, as he looks to take some time away from the court in a move that will mean he won’t defend his Austrian Open title in Vienna.

Speaking ahead of the China Open in Beijing, where he is the defending champion, Sinner offered his thoughts on the debate around scheduling in tennis.

Carlos Alcaraz has suggested the amount of mandatory tournaments players are required to play needs to be trimmed and Alexander Zverev offered up similar sentiments.

Yet Sinner admitted players can take time off from events if they choose to do so.

“The schedule is quite long these years. But as players, we can still choose what to play and what not to play,” said Sinner.

“Obviously we have some mandatory events, yes. As a player, you can still choose.

“It is a very busy schedule this year, there are a lot of tournaments. [But] you don’t have to play in a tournament. If you want, you can play. If not, you don’t play.

“For example last year and also this year, I didn’t play some tournaments because I wanted to practice. There are some choices behind this.

“In general, yeah, the season is quite long, so sometimes it’s not easy.”