Jannik Sinner is now known for dominating the singles court, but he has also shown himself as a more than competent doubles player.

Sinner won the Wimbledon singles title at his last tournament, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final to lift his fourth major title.

After continuing his dominance on the ATP Tour, it was suggested that Sinner could even beat the Wimbledon doubles champions.

Sinner is set to play alongside Emma Navarro at the US Open, where he will be hoping to showcase the same skills that helped him win his only doubles title to date.

Jannik Sinner of Italy and Reilly Opelka of the United States pose for photos with the winners trophy after the pair won the doubles final match against Steve Johnson of the United States and Jordan Thompson of Australia at the Truist Atlanta Open at Atlantic Station.Photo by Casey Sykes/Getty ImagesReilly Opelka is the only player Jannik Sinner has won an ATP doubles title with

In 2021, a 19-year-old Sinner was already an exciting young prospect, who had already reached a career-high ranking of world number 17.

The Italian would begin his North American hard court swing that year as the second seed in the singles draw at the Atlanta Open.

However, things did not go to plan, with Sinner losing his only match in the singles draw to Christopher O’Connell.

This would mean that Sinner had actually lost four singles matches in a row, but all hope was not lost as he was also entered into the doubles draw with the big-serving Reilly Opelka, who is 6’11”.

It was the first time that Sinner and Opelka had ever played doubles together, and the combination appeared to work perfectly.

Sinner and Opelka would beat the second seeds in their opening match, before reaching the Atlanta Open doubles final without dropping a single set.

The final was their most tightly contested match, but Sinner and Opelka would overcome the duo of Steve Johnson and Jordan Thompson to win the Atlanta Open doubles title in a match tie-break.

Atlanta Open 2021 Jannik Sinner & Reilly Opelka’s Result First Round Beat Jonathan Erlich & Santiago Gonzalez (2), 6-2 6-2 Quarterfinal Beat Treat Huey & Benoit Paire, 7-6(4) 6-4 Semifinal Beat Marcelo Arevalo & Miguel Ángel Reyes-Varela, 6-3 6-4 Final Beat Steve Johnson & Jordan Thompson, 6-4 6(6)-7 [10-3]

Not only would this be a great victory for Opelka and the Italian teenager at the time, but Sinner would then win the Washington Open at his next singles tournament.

This is the only time they have ever played doubles together, and Opelka’s views on the topic appear to have changed dramatically in the past four years.

What controversial things has Reilly Opelka said about doubles since then?

Opelka has taken a very different stance on doubles since then, all starting with a reply he made on an Instagram post.

After his compatriot Taylor Fritz showed interest in the US Open mixed doubles event, Opelka sarcastically claimed it was ‘disrespectful towards doubles specialists’.

However, the American later confirmed what he really meant in another message where he said, “I was being sarcastic they should 100% get rid of dubs. It’s for failed singles players, there’s no such thing as a ‘doubles specialist’.

“They don’t sell a single ticket, they take up practice courts/physios/resources, they don’t turn a profit, they complain that they don’t make enough $$. That’s pretty greedy behaviour if you ask me.”

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Opelka has received a lot of backlash for these comments, but that does not appear to have changed his opinion.

Despite the vast criticism from some fans and players, Opelka has actually doubled down on his comments by calling doubles players ‘delusional’.

However, that has not prevented him from playing doubles himself, with Opelka partnering his compatriot Ben Shelton at the Queen’s Club Championships.

That is not the only example of Opelka wanting to play doubles, as he has also signed up to play alongside Venus Williams, with the full entry list for the US Open mixed event now released.