Jannik Sinner vs Alexei Popyrin Prediction 8/28/2025 Today’s Tennis Picks

Top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner will play Australia’s No. 2 Alexei Popyrin in the second round of the 2025 US Open. The match is scheduled for Thursday, August 28. Here’s our Jannik Sinner vs Alexei Popyrin prediction. This preview will also include a Jannik Sinner vs Alexei Popyrin pick.

Jannik Sinner vs Alexei Popyrin Preview

Jannik Sinner powered into the second round of the 2025 US Open in style. Sinner demolished Czech Vit Kopriva in straight sets for the loss of only four games. In what is becoming increasingly the norm for Sinner in these early rounds of Grand Slams, Sinner’s title defense was off to the perfect start when he won the first two sets combined in an hour. Sinner hardly hobbled to victory despite facing two break points in the third set, where he only lost two games.

This was Sinner’s first match since his retirement in the Cincinnati final. The Italian was ill in Ohio, but if there were any question marks regarding his health, then those have been answered emphatically in this opening match under the New York sun. Sinner hit 17 winners and committed only 20 unforced errors in the match. He tallied seven aces to one double fault. Sinner landed 59% of first serves in play and won 83% of first serve points (33/40). Sinner won 54% of second serve points (15/28) and saved two break points. Sinner is 13-0 in completed matches on hard courts this season.

Alexei Popyrin is coming off a straight-sets win over Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori that took 32 games to decide. The match lasted two hours and 14 minutes. Popyrin did not lose his serve in the first set, where he saved three break points in the fourth game. But he was broken twice in the second set, where both players struggled to hold. It was Ruusuvuori who cracked late on, when he dropped serve and allowed Popyrin to hold to love for a 2-0 sets lead. Popyrin completed victory by rallying from 1-3 down in the third set and prevailing in a tiebreak.

Popyrin hit 44 winners to 30 unforced errors in total. He racked up 19 aces to three double faults. Popyrin won 87% of first serve points (46/53) and was broken three times. Popyrin made waves when he won his first Masters 1000 title and made the fourth round of the US Open by beating Novak Djokovic last year, but has a lot to live up to this season if he is to pull off a similar shock. Popyrin will have the monstrous task of facing the world’s best player on his favorite surface, but the Aussie will surely not lack belief.

Jannik Sinner vs Alexei Popyrin Head-To-Head

Popyrin surprisingly leads the head-to-head 1-0. He beat Jannik Sinner in straight sets at the 2021 Madrid Open.

Jannik Sinner vs Alexei Popyrin Prediction

No surprises that the books have Sinner as low as -2500 to win this match against a Top 40 player. Sinner has quelled any fears of injury or illness in his opening match and admitted that he’s in good shape physically for the long haul. That’s not uplifting news for Popyrin, who will likely drop in the rankings should he lose this early after his fourth-round exploits last season. Sinner is in a league of his own right now, and the most Popyrin can get here is a set.