Aces: His U.S. Open showing 12 months ago marked the first appearance in a Grand Slam final by an American man since Andy Roddick was the runner-up to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009. ... Got to his second Grand Slam semifinal last month at the All England Club before bowing out against Alcaraz.

OK, sure, maybe it wouldn't be rational to say there's no point in actually holding the full U.S. Open and instead just fast-forwarding to the inevitable matchup for the men's championship between Jannik Sinner — assuming he's healthy — and Carlos Alcaraz on Sept.

The latest chapter of the Jannik Sinner-Carlos Alcaraz rivalry took a stunning turn on Monday when world No. 1 Sinner retired in the first set of the Cincinnati Open final due to an unspecified health issue.