Everything was easy for Jannik Sinner in the second round of the ATP 1000 in Madrid against Lorenzo Sonego: the world number two prevailed with a clear 6-0, 6-3, in an hour and 10 minutes. For the 22-year-old from South Tyrol It is the thirteenth Italian derby (out of 13) that sees him victorious on the ATP circuit, five against Sonego. In the third round Sinner will find one between the Russian Pavel Kotov (number 72 in the world) and the Australian Jordan Thompson (number 33).
There was nothing to be done, however, for Matteo Arnaldi, whose great first set wasn’t enough to overcome the Russian Daniil Medvedev, number 4 in the ranking: the 23-year-old from Sanremo, 36th in the rankings, had to give in in three sets (2-6, 6 -4, 6-4)
Sinner, a beautiful friendship with Lorenzo off the pitch
“Playing against Lori is not easy, we have a good friendship off the court, we often train together and we have played the Davis Cup together. But I tried to put all this aside.” “I started well, I played a very solid game from behind”, commented the South Tyrolean, “he was in a bit of a hurry, he made a lot of mistakes. I tried to stay calm. I wish Lori good luck, I know he’s going through a different moment in his career. I wish him nothing but the best.” “In the two years since my last presence in Madrid I have improved a lot”, observed Sinner, “here the conditions are different from other tournaments, I can make even more progress”.
For Sinner it was his debut on clay at the Mutua Madrid Open, the fourth Masters 1000 of the season, unlike Sonego who had to face Gasquet in the first round, beaten in two sets. This time he didn’t have to struggle against his doubles partner and the 28-year-old from Turin, number 52 in the world, continues not to get beyond the second round: the last time he managed to do so dates back to last November in Metz, when he lost in the quarterfinals with Fognini.
The match had no history: in the Manolo Santana Stadium, with the roof closed due to the rain that fell in the morning, Sinner closed the first set to zero, digging an abyss of 24 points to 8. The first game for Sonego came with the 1-1 in the second set but then slips again to 4-1 until the final 6-3 closed on the first match point. Then a nice hug between the two Davis Cup teammates.