New York. Italian Jannik Sinner, the big favourite at the US Open after the defeats of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic, reached the round of 16 on Saturday with a resounding victory over Australian Christopher McConnell.
ATP leader Sinner defeated McConnell (87) 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 on the central court in New York.
The Italian will play against the winner of the duel between the American Tommy Paul (14) and the Canadian Gabriel Diallo (143) for a place in the quarter-finals, his barrier until now in Flushing Meadows.
Sinner appeared on the Arthur Ashe court, aware of possible twists and turns after the Spaniard Alcaraz and Serbian Djokovic, the last two champions, were eliminated in the previous nights by unexpected rivals.
“There have been a couple of unexpected defeats. We’ll see what happens. I’m very happy to be here and I hope I can play as many matches as possible,” said Sinner about the departures of his two great rivals.
“Anything can happen in this sport. I try to take it day by day, every opponent is a challenge,” he added.
As Serena Williams looked on in the stands, Sinner overwhelmed McConnell in a dominant first set in which she had 88 percent effectiveness on her first serve and did not concede a single break point.
The Italian only slowed down his pace in some phases of the second set, but he also did not allow the Australian to threaten his serve.
Sinner wrapped up the third set in 35 minutes and completed his 31st victory in his 33 matches of the year on hard court, the surface on which he won his first Grand Slam, the Australian Open, in January.
“Today was a great match,” he said. “I knew I had to play very solidly throughout the match. My serve worked well and I’m happy with my performance.”
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– 2024-08-31 22:56:49
