Melbourne [Australia], January 26 : Defending champion Jannik Sinner advanced into the quarterfinals of the ongoing Australian Open, defeating compatriot Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(2) in a largely dominant display on Monday.
The current world number two outclassed Darderi 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(2) to qualify for his fourth Australian Open quarterfinal, levelling with stars like Grigor Dimitrov, Kei Nishikori and Stefanos Tsitsipas for the fourth-most appearances in the final eight Down Under among active players. The match lasted two hours and nine minutes.
This was Sinner's maiden clash with Darderi, and he dictated the terms with clean hitting and sharp serves, but was threatened by a late surge by Darderi from the baseline, levelling the scores of 4-4, the match shifted to a tie-break where Sinner came out on top.
Sinner was at the top of his game, striking with astonishing authority and precision. Having struggled with cramps in his previous match against Eliot Spizzirri, he had some troubles in the final set against Darderi as well, both physically and in terms of the game, as the final set headed to a tie-breaker. But nonetheless, Sinner's class was too much, and he prevailed in a battle that got a little testing for him towards the end.
"It was very difficult. We are good friends off the court, that's also a small difficulty to put away," Sinner said of Darderi as per ATP's official website. "In the third set I had a couple of break chances, but I could not use them... Then I got very tight, so I am very happy that I closed it in three sets," he added.
Sinner's next challenge in the quarterfinals would be Ben Shelton or Casper Ruud. He aims to join Novak Djokovic as the only star to win three successive AO titles, and the veteran-youngster duo is just a win away from a potential semifinal clash.
"We put a lot of work in, especially with the serve," Sinner added. "We changed the motion a bit, and I feel for sure a little bit more confident. There is still room to improve, which is normal, but I am very happy with how I have come back in the new season. At the end of last season, I served really well, and it is much more stable," he signed off.
On the other hand, another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti, also downed another top 10 star, Taylor Fritz, to book a blockbuster quarterfinal clash against Djokovic, beating the American 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 and achieved a set of quarterfinal appearances at all Grand Slam tournaments.