Jannik Sinner got away to a win on Sunday at the Rome Masters as the eighth seed ousted Alexander Shevchenko 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-2 to reach the fourth round
The Italian winner from the German-speaking alpine north of the peninsula needed well over two hours to get the job done as good fortune ran out for his lucky loser opponent from qualifying rounds.
Sinner was so focused on the job at hand that he didn’t even realise that he had won and had to sprint back to the net to shake hands after unknowingly clinching victory.
“I thought the score was 5-4,” the 20-year-old said. “But it’s actually better that I had won already.
“I was quite in the zone, trying to play every point to the max. I missed some chance in the second set and the tiebreak, but I just try to cut those parts away.”
Sinner finished the epic
The seed advanced on the back of 23 winners and 24 unforced errors while Shevchenko had 32 winners and 35 miscues.
“I’ll take positives from tonight,” Sinner said after completing victory in unseasonable chill along with the standard humidity at the Foro Italico.
“I’m very happy to be able to play one more match in Rome. He was very aggressive, not afraid to hit the ball.
“I missed a bit on tactics but I’m happy with the performance today. It was not easy, especially in the tough moments.”
The 21-year-old Italian has reached the quarter-finals or better in seven of eight events played this
Sinner lifted his 2023 record to 28-6.
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