Former World No.1 Mats Wilander has backed Jannik Sinner to defend his US Open title. The former Swedish player feels there is a better probability of Sinner going deep into the tournament than Carlos Alcaraz, which makes the Italian a bigger title contender for the New York Major.

Sinner has been ticking the right boxes, especially in hard-court tournaments. The World No.1 recently made it to the final of the Cincinnati Open but could not complete his match against Alcaraz due to illness.

While Sinner has already won the Australian Open and Wimbledon in the ongoing season, Alcaraz won a thrilling Roland Garros final against the Italian. In the previous season, Sinner had won the US Open, whereas Alcaraz had suffered a second-round exit.

“If I had to pick a favourite, I would pick Jannik Sinner, because I think that there’s less of a chance that he loses early in the tournament than it is for Carlos Alcaraz,” Wilander said on TNT Sports.

Alcaraz, to,o has been in solid form in the ongoing season and Wilander expects the Spaniard to continue his rich form.

“And I know that (Alcaraz has) been in every final that he’s literally played in, in the last few months. So, he doesn’t really lose to players that are lower rank,” he added.

Wilander said Sinner will make it to the US Open final if he is healthy but feels it is a tad more dicey with Alcaraz.

“But again, there is a small chance that he might. With Jannik Sinner, I think that he doesn’t do that. I think Sinner will get to the finals of the US Open if he’s healthy. And if he’s 90-95% of his ability, I think he gets there. With Carlos Alcaraz, it’s a little bit more up in the air.”

The US Open will kick off on August 24 in New York.