Jannik Sinner played his first match since the Australian Open triumph, and he didn't disappoint by beating Botic van de Zandschulp in two sets at the 2024 Rotterdam Open.
Sinner and van de Zandschulp played earlier this year in Melbourne, and the Italian was able to win that match easily. Nothing changed at the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam as the Italian once again won the match easily in straight sets.
This event has been good to him in the past as he played in the final in the Dutch city last year. The conditions are slower, which gives him a chance to unload properly with his shots.
Another thing that greatly benefits is the fact that opponents truly have to outplay him in a rally to win a point. Very few players are capable of that, even less so with his most recent level, and van de Zandschulp certainly wasn't able to in this match.
Sinner got to break points fairly quickly but couldn't use them. He would do much better next time, converting them to break van de Zadnschulp, and then he added another break for good measure to win the opening set 6-3.
Van de Zandschulp wanted to try to outhit Sinner, but he wasn't very good at it. Four of his seven winners were aces, and he totaled eight unforced errors. He needed to be much sharper if he had hoped to win, but that's what happens when you play against Sinner.
The second set opened with an early break for the Italian, and from there, it was mostly cruise control for the Australian Open champion. Sinner finished the match off comfortably, winning 6-3, 6-3 behind 17 winners and only ten unforced errors.
It was a pretty advanced match from Sinner, as he did just enough to win it, and in the next round, he will take on Gael Monfils, who outplayed Denis Shapovalov in the opening round.
0 Comments