Jannik won 7-6 7-5 in a very tight match against the American who had beaten him in Tokyo. Medvedev is also ahead
Jannik Sinner takes revenge on Ben Shelton in the ATP 500 in Vienna, but the second meeting in the space of a few weeks between the two makes one thing clear: this match can become a great classic in the future. An exhausted American was expected, after the victory in Tokyo obtained just on Sunday and thousands of kilometers and time zones to work through to get to Austria: this was not the case at all. Sinner had to earn the victory (7-6 (2) 7-5), with Shelton giving nothing away and actually putting the world number four on the ropes. Jannik was extraordinary in the hot moments of the match, and the wonderful forehand at the crossroads with which he earned the decisive break (the only one of the match) in the second set is the photograph of an incredible growth on a mental level. The knowing looks with Darren Cahill (in an almost ultras version, unusual for someone like him) were the clearest sign of how difficult this match was. Not so much for the Vienna tournament or for the result itself, but because they both know that Ben Shelton, born in 2002, will certainly be an inconvenient, very inconvenient, in the future, and a defeat today could have opened up some cracks in the rivalry between the two level of confidence.
He matches
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In short, a victory that has an important specific weight for Sinner, but applause also goes to the 21-year-old American: it’s not easy to fly from one part of the world to another and play a match like that. Much was decided on serve, and there it was Jannik who spoke like the master, with an incredible 79% of first serves and 84% of points won with the first serve, against 56% of Shelton, who serves his workhorse. Sinner was also exceptional in countering the four break points he faced, almost always canceled out with aces or winning serves, as if to make it clear to Shelton that serving is now a weapon on his side too. The first set flew by until the tie break, where the blue immediately took off with an unprecedented 5-0, and then closed 7-2.
Now the derby
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Everything seemed to repeat itself in the second too, but at 5-5 Sinner was very good at exploiting the American’s imperfections (on a tactical level, still a bit like this) and taking home the game and break with an extraordinary forehand. For Jannik now the derby against Sonego (tomorrow, Thursday, not before 5.30pm). For the rest, no problems even for Daniil Medvedev, the tournament’s number one seed, who got rid of Arthur Fills in two sets (6-4 6-2).
October 25, 2023 (modified October 25, 2023 | 9.37pm)
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2023-10-25 18:03:20
#Vienna #Sinners #revenge #struggles #beats #Shelton #derby #Sonego
