US Open 2024 results: Jannik Sinner beats Mackenzie McDonald, Stefanos Tsitsipas suffers early exit

Top seed Jannik Sinner battled back against American Mackenzie McDonald to avoid a surprise first-round exit at the US Open.

The Italian was playing his first match since it emerged he had been cleared of any wrongdoing after twice testing positive for a banned substance earlier this year.

Sinner, whose coach said he was “physically and mentally” worn down by the investigation, found himself a set and a break down after a poor start on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

But he found his footing midway through the second set and it was plain sailing from there for the 23-year-old.

Sinner said the overall response to news that he had tested positive twice for a banned substance was “not bad”.

“The response from fans, I feel it has been great – throughout when the news came out, in the practice sessions, there was a lot of support, which I’m very glad and happy about that,” Sinner said in a news conference.

Asked about the reaction from other players he said: “I cannot control the players’ reaction, and if I have something to say to someone, I go there privately, because I’m this kind of person.”

Earlier on Tuesday, Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered an early US Open exit for the seventh year in a row as the 11th seed lost to Thanasi Kokkinakis in the first round.

Last year’s runner-up and 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev brushed off a middling second set to beat Dusan Lajovic 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-1.