New York, Aug 30 (IANS): World No.1 Jannik Sinner stormed into the third round of men's singles at the US Open with a straight sets win against American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. With this win, Sinner captured his 50th win of the season and a tour-leading 30th win on hard courts.
Sinner was clinical on Thursday afternoon in Arthur Ashe Stadium, turning a potentially tricky matchup into a routine victory as he defeated the 49th-ranked NextGenATP star.
The top seed has enjoyed a standout 2024, winning five titles including his first major at the Australian Open. The 23-year-old Italian hit freely and forced errors from Michelsen with his weight and depth of shot to earn his second victory this month against the 20-year-old.
Sinner, who beat Michelsen in their first ATP head-to-head meeting en route to the title in Cincinnati, is into the third round at the US Open for the fourth consecutive year and will next meet Christopher O’Connell.
Sinner converted 50 percent of the eight break points he won while Michelson won only two. Sinner's astounding 81% first serve win percentage, significantly higher than Michelsen's 65%, was a key factor in his success. The young American served five double faults.
Sinner also outperformed Michelsen at net, winning 75% of his points compared to Michelsen's 33%.
Sinner started relatively slowly against Michelsen, dropping serve in his first game. However, he hit with more intensity from the baseline in the closing stages of the opener, gaining the decisive break of the first set in the ninth game.
From there, the Italian capitalised on Michelsen’s lack of depth to overpower the American, who committed 31 unforced errors, to seal victory after one hour and 40 minutes.
Sinner’s best result in New York came in 2022 when he lost in a five-set, five-hour quarter-final epic against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Earlier, Czech Tomas Machac upset 16th seed Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round at the hard-court major for the first time. Italian Matteo Arnaldi also advanced, dispatching Roman Safiullin 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to continue his impressive year.
World No. 30 Arnaldi next plays Jordan Thompson after the Australian upset seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-5. Machac takes on David Goffin or Adrian Mannarino.