Sinner off to strong start in Cincinnati with straight-set win over Michelsen
Jannik Sinner is the first man into the third round of the Cincinnati Masters after beating Alex Michelsen on Wednesday. Sebastian Baez or Australian Jordan Thompson will be next for the top seed.
Jannik Sinner wins his third-round match at the 2023 US Open © Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic
Jannik Sinner advanced to the last 16 of the Western & Southern Open by beating American qualifier Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-5 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center on Wednesday afternoon.
Although the scoreline was straightforward, it was a high-quality contest decided by very small margins. Michelsen generated eight break-point opportunities, but not once could he convert. The 19-year-old American missed three chances in the first set and five in the second. He earned at least one break point in a whopping five games.
Nonetheless, Sinner always managed to come up with the goods when it mattered most. The world No 1 consistently delivered clutch serves at the most important moments and he finished with nine aces. He advanced after one hour and 51 minutes.
It was an important result for Sinner, who lost to Andrey Rublev in the Montreal quarterfinals last week and looked less than 100 percent because of a hip problem. There appeared to be no such problems on Wednesday in Cincinnati.
The 22-year-old will face the winner of the match between Argentine Sebastian Baez and Australian Jordan Thompson in the round of 16 on Friday.
In the previous round of the Cincinnati Masters, Michelsen — ranked No 57 — defeated Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor (6-1, 5-7, 6-2).
Cincinnati Masters 1000, other second-round results:
- Jiri Lehecka vs. Daniil Medvedev
- Holger Rune vs. Nuno Borges
- Casper Ruud vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime
- Luciano Darderi vs. Flavio Cobolli
- Hubert Hurkacz vs. Yoshihito Nishioka
- Fabian Marozsan vs. Grigor Dimitrov
- Alexander Zverev vs. Karen Khachanov
- Zhizhen Zhang vs. Andrey Rublev
- Brandon Nakashima vs. Arthur Fils
- Lorenzo Musetti vs. Frances Tiafoe
- Sebastian Baez vs. Jordan Thompson
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