NEW YORK. A few words and let’s get to work. Jannik Sinner wants to close the doping affair quickly and does so by responding on the court. The South Tyrolean number 1 in the ranking, after some uncertainty expressed only in the first round, advances like a steamroller at the US Open.
The champion from Sesto Pusteria got rid of them in three sets (6-1, 6-4, 6-2) of the Australian Christopher O’Connell and qualifies for the round of 16 of the tournament. It is a victory that makes even more noise after his closest rivals in the rankings, not very tender on the Clostebol affair, said goodbye to Flashing Meadows early. Twenty-four hours after the knockout of Carlos Alcarazin New York it also falls Novak Djokovic. The defending champion lost in the third round to Alexei Popyrin, seeded 28, with a score of 6-4, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. An impeccable performance by the Australian who had lost to the Serb at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year. This time the epilogue was different, with Popyrin reaching the round of 16 in a Slam for the first time in his career. The Serb is not looking for excuses.
“I was exhausted after all the energy I had spent to win in Paris. Here the surface is different and I was running out of gas. I didn’t give up because it’s the US Open and I gave it a try. Never mind, life goes on and I look to the future. It can happen that you play badly and that nothing works, here it happened. I tried to change many things in my game, but I lost timing and movements, I lost the basics”.
But he also leaves the US Open early Lorenzo Musetti. He had reached the third round of the American Slam for the second time in his career, but against Brandon Nakashima he took a step back, losing naively and showing the uncertainties that he is slowly overcoming. Leading 4-0 in the fourth set he let himself be beaten 7-6, thus losing with the score of 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6. “It was a very high level match – he said after the match – Brandon deserved it, and the service was his winning weapon. It hurts because I think I played one of the best matches since I’ve been on hard court, I expressed an excellent level of tennis, apart from the first set in which he overwhelmed me, but from the second set onwards I dominated the exchange and this gave me hope. His continuity in service was impressive and this certainly helped him stay in the match. On the one hand I’m happy with the Lorenzo I saw on the court today, even if the result is quite bitter”.
The highest seed still in the running in the bottom half of the draw is Sascha Zverev. The world no. 4 (but virtually no. 2 after the US Open) finished his match at 2.35 am, beating Argentine Tomas Etcheverry in four sets with a score of 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, 6-3. A battle that lasted 3 hours and 35 minutes. He also came back for Casper Ruud against the Chinese Juncheng Shang, while Rublev and Dimitrov had no difficulties against Lehecka and Griekspoor respectively.
He also thinks about keeping the Italian colours high Jasmine Paolini. The Tuscan beat Kazakh Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-4. She is the first Italian to reach the eighth-finals in all four Slams in the same year: “How did I do it? I don’t know – laughs Jasmine – From the beginning of this year I started to be consistent, to believe more in myself and to understand that I could play better, even in Slams. Where until this season I had never managed to get past two rounds in a row. Let’s say that things have really changed! And then it’s beautiful to play in such a big stadium in front of so many people”. Now she will face Czech Karolina Muchova (n.52 Wta).
2024-08-31 22:16:40