Sinner Continues to Dominate in Australia, Easing into Round 3

Four-time major champion and two-time defending Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner was a picture of efficiency on Day 5 as he eased past Aussie James Duckworth 6-1 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 49 minutes.

“The work never stops,” Sinner said after cracking 31 winners and saving the three break points he faced. “I’m happy of course about where I am, but we try to keep going, keep pushing to see how far we can go.”

Sinner is aiming to become just the second man in the Open Era to complete a three-peat in Melbourne, along with Novak Djokovic, who achieved the feat by winning three of his ten total titles between 2011 and 2013.

Since losing to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the round of 16 in Melbourne, Sinner has won 16 straight at the event. Since the start of 2024 he has won 29 of 30 matches at the hard court majors, losing only to Carlos Alcaraz in last year’s US Open final.

Duckworth managed a hold in his first service game of the match, but was then broken in his next two as the Italian raced away with the set.

Credit the 34-year-old Aussie for battling hard in the second. He saved three break pionts to hold for 3-2 but couldn’t hold off the world No.2 in the next game, as Sinner’s third service break of the night was the difference in the middle set.

Two consecutive breaks to start the third had Sinner galloping to the finish line for his 24th career Australian win against just four losses.

Drop Shots? Alcaraz Still the King

Sinner had two drop shot winners on the evening and three backhand unforced errors while trying the dropper. After the match interviewer Jim Courier praised Sinner for his variation, but the Italian quickly reminded him that his rival Carlos Alcaraz is the drop shot king.

“Drop shots on the backhand side we still have to work on,” he said. “Some they don’t arrive to the net.”