Former British No. 1 Greg Rusedski has revealed the reason behind Jannik Sinner’s Canadian Open withdrawal. The Brit reckons the Italian doesn’t want to burn out before the all-important US Open, and the ATP 1000 Masters’ tournament’s two-week changed format would have forced Sinner to opt out of the competition.

Earlier in the season, the Italian had a dream run on clay, winning one title after the other. However, his body could not hold up as he suffered a shocking second-round loss against Juan Manuel Cerundolo at the French Open despite having a two-sets-to-love lead. Sinner admitted he could handle the extreme heat in Paris.

Greg Rusedski said on Off Court with Greg, “So he won all the Masters Series going in. And then in Paris, he was a little bit tired. So he’s looking at preparation to win in New York. He wants to win a second Slam this year. He wants to be World No.1 at the end of the year again. And it’s just too long. Let’s look at it. Some players go to Washington. Montreal is a two-week event.”

“Then Cincinnati is a two-week event. Then you’ve got a week in between before the US Open. So most Europeans don’t want to get there too early. In my day it was a lot easier. You play Cincinnati for one week. Montreal was one week, or Toronto, whichever way the order was. Week off, then the [US] Open. So being away that much time is too long. And also he doesn’t want to burn out before the US Open.”

On the other hand, Jannik Sinner’s coach Simone Vagnozzi praised the Italian for his mental fortitude.

During his interview with Corriere della Sera, Vagnozzi said: “Even if you give him a hard blow after a match, the next day he reflects, reacts, and accepts what you have told him. His greatest quality is that he likes to have people around him who tell him what he does not want to hear.”

Jannik Sinner’s decision to withdraw from the Canadian Masters ended his pursuit of an unprecedented clean sweep of all nine Masters 1000 titles in a single season.