By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday January 18, 2025
Jannik Sinner notched his 10th consecutive win at the Australian Open, and made it 17 straight hard court wins at the majors.
Photo Source: Getty
Jannik Sinner found himself in a tight spot at the end of the first set with Marcos Giron on Saturday night in Rod Laver Arena.
It was one of those moments that could end up determining whether the defending champion was going to have a difficult night or a breezy one.
With Giron holding a break point opportunity as Sinner served at 5-3, 30-40, the 31 year-old got the advantage and whipped a crosscourt forehand that should’ve been enough to get him the break.
It was not – these are the perils of facing a phenom like the 23-year-old Italian, who cruised to a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over the 46th-ranked Southern California native.
In a flash Sinner ran down the ball and, from way wide of the tramline, flicked the craziest, most outrageously angled crosscourt winner you will ever see. Deuce. Moments later, the set was over and we had our answer: It would be a breezy night for the World No.1.
To be fair, Giron is a consummate professional who doesn’t make things easy for anyone he faces. But Sinner has the tools in the shed to take the racquet out of most players’ hands, and he was able to do that against the American, especially in the big moments, on Saturday.
Commentating for ESPN, Brad Gilbert said it well: “too much game.”
"Felt like today was maybe the best match in the way of how I tried to play," Sinner said. "I made some still more mistakes, but it's okay. I felt like I was hitting the ball a little bit better than in the previous rounds. So yeah, I'm quite happy. Of course I want to raise my level in the next round match..."
The Italian broke for 3-2 in the second set then erased another breakpoint to hold for 4-2. At the 60-minute mark of the match the tone had been set.
A few games later, Sinner faced a love-30 hole while serving for the second set, but reeled off the next four points to lock it up, sealing the stanza with a wicked crosscourt forehand winner.
He broke instantly to start the third, and though he was broken back for 2-2, Sinner quickly took the upper hand with a break back in the next game, and marched to victory from there, winning the final four games.
Sinner stretches his current winning streak, which dates back to his run to the Shanghai title in October, to 17. He also stretches his run of consecutive hard court wins at the majors to 17.
The Italian reaches the fourth round at the Australian open for the fourth time and improves to 18-4 overall in Melbourne. If he can win four more matches next week, he will become the fifth player in open era history to win three consecutive hardcourt major titles, along with Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe.
He will face Holger Rune, who defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in five sets on Saturday, next.
more to follow…