Sinner escapes the Beijing Jarry fear: On his return to the China Open on Thursday, defending champion Jannik Sinner did not have everything go his way, but he managed to overcome Nicolas Jarry and secure his 12th straight victory.
In the opening set, the powerful Chilean outplayed the Italian. The top seed, nevertheless, would not go down and improved his level, consistency, and intensity to win the Beijing first-round match 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
With a 56-5 record this season, Sinner noted, “He played good tennis.” “He broke me in the first set because I was having trouble returning his serve. I simply made an effort to remain there. Any tournament’s opening round is never simple, and going up against him is extremely difficult. However, I’m pleased with my performance and how I closed the game.”
To counter Jarry’s persistent net advances, Sinner made 11 unintentional mistakes and several brilliant baseline passes. Jarry defeated World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in February to earn his greatest career victory.
Sinner escapes the Beijing Jarry fear:
According to Infosys ATP Stats, Sinner won 82% (37/45) of his first-serve points. “The first-serve was good, the second I have to improve a little,” Sinner commented. It is not simple, because he was coming back quite fiercely. After the US Open, we made a concerted effort to work hard and make a few changes, but we were still happy with my process.”
Sinner won the ATP 500 event in Beijing the previous year. The 23-year-old’s performance in the Chinese capital was a crucial first step toward becoming the first Italian No. 1 in PIF ATP Rankings history (since 1973).
Flavio Cobolli, a fellow Italian, upset Alexander Bublik, the eighth seed, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4). According to Infosys ATP Stats, the 22-year-old, who is ranked No. 31 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, won 81% (50/62) of his first-serve points.
Pavel Kotov will next challenge Cobolli. In the Lexus ATP Head2Head Series, the two have drawn their two matches.
