Jannik Sinner overpowered Jiri Lehecka and he's already in the semi-finals of the 2024 Indian Wells Open.
Can someone beat Sinner in 2024? So far, the answer is a definitive - No! The Italian not only doesn't lose matches, he doesn't even lose sets, as he last lost one to Gael Monfils in Rotterdam, seven matches ago.
After besting Ben Shelton, who was his highest-ranked opponent so far, the third seed took on Lehecka, who has been in great form at the season's first ATP Masters 1000 event, beating Andrey Rublev and also stunning Stefanos Tsitsipas.
But the Czech player was no match for his opponent in this match. Sinner broke already in the third game of opening set, and after saving a break point in the eighth game, he added one more game to easily win the first set 6-3.
Lehecka desperately needed a good start to the second set, but he couldn't get anywhere close to that, as his opponent was serving just too well to allow any break point chances.
On the contrary, Sinner broke the Czech's serve once again, and with a 4-1 lead, he was now in complete control of the match. When Lehecka served to stay in the match at 2-5, the world no. 3 had two match points, but the Czech player managed to prolong the match by one more game.
Sinner would eventually win 6-3, 6-3 without any major difficulties, reaching the semi-finals of the 2024 Indian Wells Open.
Up next, he will be facing a real challenge. The winner of the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev will be Sinner's next opponent, in what will be a semi-final blockbuster, regardless of the outcome of the quarter-final match between Alcaraz and Zverev.
By beating Lehecka, Sinner also increased his winning streak to 16-0, and 18-0 including two exhibitions he played. On top of that, he ended the 2023 season with three more wins.