Jannik Sinner's arduous start to a new era

Sinner first had to fend off three match points in his first round game at the “Dubai Duty Free Championships” and then really outgrew himself to beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (ATP 42) 4:6, 7:6, 6:3. After the two and a half hour duel, the Sesto native received applause from his new coach Simone Vagnozzi, who was eagerly crossing his fingers in the stands. Before Sinner offered really strong tennis in the second half of the game, he had a lot of trouble with the aggressive Spaniard, who had been playing well up to that point. He kept panting after his opponent's powerful and precisely placed balls. Accordingly, Davidovich Fokina was an extremely inconvenient opponent for Sinner to get back into the rhythm of the game after his month-long break from tournaments. The lack of match practice was particularly reflected in Sinner's lack of security on the ball, as he repeatedly hit seemingly simple shots behind or next to the line. Late, but then: Sinner turns up the heat What was striking about Sinner's game was that he sought his way to the net much more often than usual. Whether this was due to the instructions of his new coach or Davidovich Fokina's playing style remains to be seen. The fact is that this calculation didn't work out at all in the first set - on the contrary, because his counterpart was given an additional push with successful passes. Sinner lost the first round 4:6 and was also behind 2:4 in the second before the tide turned. Suddenly the Pusterer was really in the game and took the edge off the 22-year-old powerhouse from Spain. First he equalized to 4:4, later he made up for a 2:5 deficit in the tiebreak, canceled three match points and finally won the additional game 8:6. The result? For the first time this year, Sinner went into a deciding set. There he played his entire repertoire and landed the decisive break with the score at 3:2. After that, the opening victory could no longer be taken away from him. Now the former number 1 is waiting In the round of 89, Sinner will now face a prominent opponent, namely the British tennis icon Andy Murray. He was still at the top of the world rankings five and a half years ago, but after lengthy injuries and crises he had to fight his way back to his current position of 14th in the ATP rankings. Sinner and Murray have faced each other once before: last year in Stockholm, the Brit, who is XNUMX years older, had the upper hand in two sets.

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Jannik Sinner's arduous start to a new era

A new career phase began for Jannik Sinner this Tuesday. At the ATP 500 tournament in Dubai, he played his first match without his long-time companion and supporter, coaching guru Riccardo Piatti. The start went differently than planned, that much can be said in advance.

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