‘Unknown’ opponent gives Sinner a scare

World No. 16 Jannik Sinner set up an interesting third round showdown with Frenchman Gael Monfils after beating off the challenge of American wild card Zachary Svajda at Flushing Meadows.

The Italian young gun survived a third-set tie-break against the 18-year-old world No. 716 before taking a break late in the fourth set to win the match 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-7(6), 6-4.

“Today was for sure not easy. I didn’t [know] my opponent,” Sinner said.

“I tried to stick to my game plan. The first set worked well. The second set was a little bit a roller coaster. I was down 5-2, and I managed somehow to break him when he was serving for the set. The tie-break, I played well. The third set went in his way.

“So the level today, I think it was quite high to be honest. He didn’t miss many balls,” Sinner added. “I tried to play my game. Sometimes I had to go more forward, which I didn’t do today, so I was a little bit struggling… At the end I’m very happy about my performance.”

Sinner will face Monfils, who beat American Steve Johnson 7-5, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Peter Rowe

Recent Posts

Davis Cup Final to mark Nadal goodbye to tennis

Rafael Nadal will bring down the curtain on his career next month as he plays his…

4 weeks ago

Wimbledon lowers the boom on human linecalling

Wimbledon on Wednesday brought an end to human linecalling at the most traditional of the…

4 weeks ago

Djokovic rolls Cobolli as Shanghai fights to restore order

Novak Djokovic returned to action after waiting tow days to play as the rain-hit Shanghai…

4 weeks ago

Innocent umpiring error screws Stan in Shanghai

Stan Wawrinka may have been inadvertently short-changed during Monday's third-round loss at the Shanghai Masters…

4 weeks ago

Sinner sweeps Fritz to win US Open

Jannik Sinner schooled Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 to win his second Grand Slam title…

2 months ago

Sabalenka wins Open title for Grand Slam hat-trick

Aryana Sabalenka completed a Grand Slam title hat-trick on Saturday as she fought from 5-3…

2 months ago