Sinner Eases Into China Open Semifinals And Forgets Previous Struggles

Jannik Sinner had no issues beating Jiri Lehecka earlier this year in Indian Wells, and he didn't have any issues beating him this year at the 2024 China Open, either.

Sinner won this ATP 500 event last year by beating Daniil Medvedev in the final, and he returned this year to try again. He's generally looked superb in recent weeks due to his Cincinnati Open triumph, where he bested Frances Tiafoe in two sets in the final.

After that, he also won the US Open, beating Taylor Fritz in the final in straight sets, so with this win against Lehecka, Sinner is up to 14 wins in a row, which is an incredible streak.

This win over Lehecka also got him into the semi-final, and he's only one match away from a potential final against Carlos Alcaraz. Time will tell if both make it to that round, but in this quarter-final, the Italian did win, and it wasn't that hard.

He faced Lehecka twice before this match, and both those times, the Italian was too good for his opponent. They weren't close matchups, and this largely wasn't either.

Lehecka started well, won his first service game, but then he got broken in the next. Sinner held for a 4-1 lead, and this lead mostly came down to Lehecka not playing as well as he could.

Sinner was putting him under a lot of pressure, and it worked. In the first 5 games, Lehecka had nine unforced errors and only one winner. That was a very poor mark, but that's the nature of his game.

He's a risk taker, and sometimes it works, while other times it doesn't. Early on in this match, it didn't because Sinner might just be the most consistent baseliner in the game right now.

Sinner won the opening set with yet another break for a 6-2 scoreline as Lehecka just kept piling up the errors. He finished the first set with 15 unforced errors and only 3 winners, which is not going to cut it against weaker players, let alone the world number one.

Read also

Aryna Sabalenka vs Madison Keys: 2024 China Open Beijing - Preview & Prediction

Sinner was pretty solid, but he wasn't particularly sharp either, totaling 11 unforced errors himself. Lehecka did a far better job in the second set.

Despite serving horribly, the Czech player controlled the ball better and stopped beating himself, which is what allowed him to keep his serve in the first few games of the second set.

Sinner wasn’t panicking as he held his own serve pretty well, but he couldn't really break through on the serve of Lehecka either. Even though the Czech player was holding on well, Sinner still looked miles closer to victory.

He controlled play, and it never seemed that he didn't control how the match progressed. It was only a matter of time before his chance would come, and he would be ready when it did.

It came at 4-3 in the second set when Sinner finally got his first break chances, but he didn't convert them. He wasn't ready for it this time, so the match continued.

Lehecka even got his break chances, but eventually, Sinner was able to win the match in the second-set tie-break, triumphing 6-2, 7-6(6).

Read also

2024 Shanghai Masters ATP Draw: Djokovic, Alcaraz & Sinner All Vying For Title