Sinner Surges Past Eubanks At US Open
Jannik Sinner was pushed to the limit in his opening match at the US Open, but the Italian got back on track Thursday.
The 11th seed eliminated American Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 7-6(8), 6-2 to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the second consecutive year. He will next play American Brandon Nakashima after the 21-year-old #NextGenATP star defeated former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(5), 7-5, 6-3.
In the first round, Sinner needed three hours and 35 minutes across five sets to claw past German Daniel Altmaier. Against Eubanks, he needed two hours and 24 minutes.
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It was by no means a stress-free win for the Italian, who was tested in a lengthy second-set tie-break, in which he needed four set points. But once the 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion escaped that tie-break, he surged to the finish line.
Sinner converted four of his 12 break points and made just 16 unforced errors compared to 51 for Eubanks in a two-hour, 24-minute victory. Eubanks is now 0-11 against Top-50 players.
It has been a successful year for Sinner at the Grand Slam championships. The Italian made the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and also advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros. Sinner claimed his sixth ATP Tour title in Umag.
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Like Sinner, Andrey Rublev also produced a more dominant display on Thursday after surviving a five-set scare against Laslo Djere in his opening match.
The ninth seed dispatched Soonwoo Kwon 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 in one hour and 45 minutes to reach the third round in New York for the fifth time. The 24-year-old, who has won three tour-level titles this year, hit 35 winners to set a meeting with Canadian Denis Shapovalov or Spaniard Roberto Carballes Baena.
Cameron Norrie also advanced, sweeping past Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4). The seventh seed is currently 11th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin as he aims to finish the season strongly and qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
The 27-year-old Briton will aim to reach the fourth round in New York for the first time when he plays #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune.
#NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti ensured there was further success for Italy. The 20-year-old eliminated Dutchman 6-7(1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the third round for the first time. Musetti will next face eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz or Ilya Ivashka.