Jannik Sinner plays fascinating tennis even with a handicap. © ANSA / JUANJO MARTIN

This Jannik Sinner knows no pain

With an enormous show of strength, Jannik Sinner fought his way into the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters in Madrid on Tuesday. Until shortly before the start of the game, it was still unclear whether South Tyrol's sports superstar would even be able to compete.

30 April 2024

From: fop

Jannik Sinner clinched his 28th win in his 30th game this year in the Spanish capital. But he was challenged like never before this season. He defeated Karen Khachanov (ATP 17) 2:12, 5:7, 6:3 in 6 hours and 3 minutes of play.

Sinner was challenged on the one hand by his big opponent and on the other hand by a hip injury. He had this on Monday against Pavel Kotov drawn in. That's why Sinner, who was ranked number one, repeatedly grabbed the damaged area while warming up, but then decided to take on the duel - with success, as it turned out later.

Sinner got off to a rocky start at first, had to fend off three break points in the third game and then had trouble keeping up with Khachanov. When the score was 5:5, the error-prone South Tyrolean had to give up the service to his opponent and let him win the set.

Karen Khachanov showed his best tennis. © APA/afp / PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU

But then the favorite showed what he was made of. He mercilessly punished any negligence on the part of the Russian and immediately won the first three games. Although Khachanov quickly got back on track, the Sinner engine was now running at full speed. As a result, the second round went to him 6:3.

“I wasn’t 100 percent.” Jannik Sinner

The tension came to a head in the deciding set - also because Khachanov was now unleashing his powerful shots from the opening phase and putting Sinner under pressure with his best tennis. However, the more speed came into play, the better Sinner became. He played his balls with targeted length and his cross shots at an incredible angle. So it happened that he took serve from Khachanov when the score was 2:2 and a little later he moved to 4:2 with his own service. The Sesto player couldn't miss that, on the contrary: when the opponent served, he put a precise longline ball into the field to make it 6:3 and thus used the first match point.

Now Auger-Aliassime is waiting

This was Sinner's fourth success in his fifth duel with Khachanov, who only had the upper hand in the first meeting four years ago. In the winner's interview afterwards, Sinner revealed: “I wasn't at 100 percent, but my condition was okay. So we decided at short notice to play.” The biggest difficulty would have been the injury, but his opponent. “Karen played excellently. Now I’m glad I have a day off.”

However, the next hurdle awaits on Thursday. Sinner then faces a player he has never beaten: Felix Auger-Aliassime (ATP 35). The Canadian has won both previous duels, including the one in Madrid two years ago. In the round of XNUMX he surprisingly asserted himself in two sets against world number six Casper Ruud.