Jannik Sinner vs Vit Kopriva Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Sinner to cruise into second round

No man has successfully defended the US Open title since Roger Federer won five straight between 2004-08. Can Sinner snap the sequence over the next fortnight in New York? You'd be a brave man to bet against him. The Italian hasn't lost a completed match on hardcourt since October 2024 in Beijing and seemingly only Carlos Alcaraz has the ability to stop him on this surface or any other really. Having recovered from the virus that struck him down in the Cincinnati final, Sinner will be looking to make a statement in his opening round.

Kopriva gets his moment in the spotlight here, but this will almost certainly be over in a hurry. The Czech, ranked No. 89, hasn't won back-to-back matches since May and comes into this clash having lost four of his last five outings. Sinner has won six matches with Under 24.5 total games in his last four slams, so there's a high chance he dominates a couple of more opponents in New York. Happy to take on the value with the defending champion first up.

This will be the first ever meeting between the pair.

Sinner enters this contest with a 31-4 record on the season and set to battle it out with Carlos Alcaraz over the remainder of 2025 for the World No. 1 ranking.

Of course, Sinner was unable to add to his points tally during his three-month suspension from February to early May this season, but that break certainly didn't affect the Italian's form or game.

In fact, Sinner was one point away on three occasions from coming into the US Open with the chance at winning the Calendar Year Grand Slam, something even the Big Three couldn't achieve.

Sinner successfully defended his Australian Open title before falling in five sets to Alcaraz at Roland Garros. The 23-year-old bounced back to conquer his rival in four sets in the Wimbledon final, but didn't have the chance to get the upper hand ahead of the US Open, retiring with illness while trailing 5-0 in the first set of their Cincinnati final.

On a 21-match winning streak at hardcourt slams dating back to the 2024 Australian Open, Sinner once again starts as the favourite to emerge triumphant in New York.

Kopriva heads into this encounter with a 8-10 record at tour-level for the season, establishing himself in the top 100.

It was a long grind for the 28-year-old to make his top 100 debut, but he's finally amongst the game's elite and will want to hang around for as long as possible.

The Czech had a solid start to the year, winning Challenger titles and making the third round of the Rome Masters, but he's struggled lately.

Kopriva hasn't won back-to-back matches since May and has lost four of his last five coming into the US Open, going down to Yunchaokete Bu in Toronto, Daniel Galan in Cincinnati and an injured Seb Korda in Winston Salem. Kopriva will be making his US Open main draw debut in this clash and has a 0-2 record against top five players, going 0-5 in sets.