Jannik Sinner didn't let Christopher O'Connell stop him and stormed into the quarter-finals. © ANSA / CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

Also against O'Connell: The Sinner Express keeps rolling

On Tuesday, Jannik Sinner was challenged against Christopher O'Connell in the round of 1000 of the XNUMX Masters tournament in Miami. The man from Sexten initially had a bit of a hard time against the Australian, but ultimately made it to the quarter-finals.

March 26, 2024

From: mv

So far, Jannik Sinner and Christopher O'Connell (ATP 66) have only met once. At the tournament in Atlanta in 2021, the Australian won in two sets 7:6 (9) and 6:4. At that time the two were playing for a place in the quarterfinals. That's what it was all about on Tuesday when the two met in Miami. This time the Sesto native had the better end – albeit with some difficulties. He defeated O'Connell in straight sets 6:4 and 6:3.

The game started very badly for Jannik Sinner. In his first service game he immediately received the break from O'Connell, who then won the second game and made it 2-0. The sixth player seemed a little sluggish and tired, while O'Connell was very strong, especially on his own serve. Both then won their service game, making it 3-1 for O'Connell. But it soon became clear that when Sinner played big, the Australian had little to say. But the South Tyrolean often wobbled in the first set - too often.

The decisive break

When the score was 3:4 from Sinner's point of view, the man from Sexten finally managed to break to 4:4: the set was equal again! After almost an hour, Sinner managed the next break and won the first set - despite initial difficulties - 6:4.

Sinner started completely differently in the second set. After winning the game on his own service, he kept O'Connell in check in his service game and managed the break straight away. Then a brief moment of shock caused a stir: a woman had fainted in the stands.

Sinner is a person of heart

Jannik Sinner directly handed up water, a towel and ice cubes, making a very nice gesture for which he also received a lot of applause. When the woman was treated by the emergency services and she was stable, things continued again. Sinner immediately appeared present and wide awake again and made it 3-0.

Jannik Sinner celebrates reaching the quarter-finals. © ANSA / CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH

The world number three played extremely well on his own serve, dominated at will and made O'Connell look old again and again. However, when his opponent served, the Puster player sometimes had great difficulties. After 1.51:6 hours, Sinner converted the match point and won the second set 3:XNUMX.

Now something new awaits

Jannik Sinner will move into the quarter-finals where he will meet Czech Tomas Machac (ATP 60). The man from Sexten has never played against the 23-year-old; they will meet for the first time ever in the Miami quarter-finals. In his round of 38, Machec certainly made people sit up and take notice when he defeated Matteo Arnaldi (ATP 6) in two sets 3:6 and 3:XNUMX.