Jannik Sinner in the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid. The 22-year-old Italian, first seeded and number 2 in the world, beat Russian Karen Khachanov, seeded number 16, 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in 2h10′ in the round of 16. Sinner offers yet another notable performance, eliminating the right hip problems suffered in the third round match against another Russian, Pavel Kotov, beaten in 2 sets. With Khachanov, the world number 2 is forced to chase in a match in which he concedes 6 break points.
The Russian scores just one, enough to lead the first set. Sinner, who travels on 70% of his first balls, commits an unusual and high number of gratuitous errors (22). However, it is concrete when he can break his rival’s serve: 3 chances and 3 breaks that decide the second and third sets.
The match
The duel unfolds in the name of balance in the first set. Sinner cancels a break point in the opening game, for the rest we proceed according to the service shifts with regularity. The blue pays a heavy price for the only mini miss pass at 5-5. Thanks to a gratuitous error, he concedes a break point: Khachanov exploits it, goes up 6-5 and closes in the next game.
Sinner does well to immediately reverse the trend at the start of the second set. Break in the second game and the South Tyrolean takes the lead (2-0) without looking back. The third set ‘uncorks’ in the fifth game. Sinner accelerates with 3 winners: Khachanov cannot keep up with the pace set by the world number 2 and gives up the serve. The blue escapes at 5-3 and closes the score with another break.
What Sinner said
“Today was very tough, my rival played very well, in the first set I made a few too many errors but in the second I regained my concentration, then in the third I suffered again in two rounds of service but in the end I’m happy and let’s see what will happen in the next round”, Sinner’s words after the match. “Today I felt a little better physically, but still not 100%, but I like playing. I’m happy with the performance, because I was in difficulty but then I raised my level in the second and third sets. I’m happy, now let’s see how the next game goes,” he adds.
“The fact that I have played so much can happen, in my mind I know it. Today at the last minute I chose to play, but it had already happened in my career to find myself in these situations. Furthermore, I knew that if I had won today I wouldn’t have played tomorrow and I would have a day to recover.”