Jannik Sinner and Alex de Minaur, two young bucks who have a great future in the game, put on a couple of brilliant performances to sweep into the third round of the Australian Open, the first grand slam of the season.
We have to see how I go when the match is closer and when the sets are closer Jannik Sinner
Italy’s Sinner, the fourth seed, dominated his second-round opponent, the Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong and said he believes he can be better after completing a 6-2 6-2 6-2 rout.
The 22-year-old Italian didn’t face a break point throughout the one-sided contest and struck 26 winners past the world No.161 to secure his 40th win at grand slam level and the 10th at Melbourne.
.“Tennis-wise, I played a little bit better,” Sinner replied when asked to compare his latest performance to his first round win.
“I felt better on the court. With the roof closed, it’s a little bit different. I love the conditions.”
Like many others in the draw, Sinner decided not to play any warm-up event to prepare for the AO and so far, the lack of match-play is not evident though in fairness, the level of opponents have not proved very testing and he has yet to drop a set.
On the positive side, he is working his way into the fortnight and has accepted he will have to raise his game as the draw progresses.
“For sure I can improve. Today I played quite well and I felt good on the court. I was very calm and stable throughout the whole match,” he commented.
“We have to see how I go when the match is closer and when the sets are closer.
“Today it (the match) seemed easier than it was because he (Jong) played well throughout the whole tournament. I wish him all the best. He’s a very nice person, a nice man, and hopefully, we can see him many more times making some good draws the whole year.”
Alex de Minaur on the move
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
Meantime Australia’s Alex De Minaur cruised past a trickier and more established opponent, Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi 6-3 6-0 6-3 on the Rod Laver Arena.
A real hustler, De Minaur who has been nicknamed ‘The Demon’ by his contemporaries, made 29 unforced errors as compared to 52 by Arnaldi, 22. He also saved two break points in the first set before breaking twice – in the third and ninth games – to win the first set.
He stamped his authority on the match by delivering a bagel on his opponent in the second and raced into a 3-0 lead in the third when Arnaldi finally hit back.
The Italian pulled back on serve in the fifth game and held serve in the sixth game to draw level at 3-3 but De Minaur, after a 20-point rally produced a break point which he converted with a smash to edge ahead 5-3 and go o to cross the finish line.
“I am pleased to be through to the third round after spending less than four hours on court. I think so far I have done what I needed to do to win the matches. It has not been probably the prettiest of levels or my best level. I played two opponents where maybe I have not been allowed to be as aggressive as I would like, because they have got a lot of firepower, but I have got a lot more to show. Over the years you have come to learn how important it is to conserve the energy because it is a long two weeks if you want to get to the end of the tournament, and that’s ultimately the goal. Now I have learnt that the first week is all about getting through, finding ways to get through”, De Minaur said.
He now goes on to play another Italian, Flavio Cobolli, who beat Russia’s Pavel Kotov 7-5 3-6 5-7 6-2 in 3 hours and 16 minutes while Sinner faces Argentina’s Sebastian Baez, seeded 26. Who ousted Colombia’s Daniel Elahi Galan 7-5 2-6 6-2 6-4.
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