Jannik Sinner is into the 2024 Australian Open quarterfinal after he navigated a challenging match against Karen Khachanov.
The Italian has been one of the most dangerous players on the ATP Tour ever since last year's China Open, which he went on to win. Since then, he lost only to Ben Shelton and Novak Djokovic, but he still beat the 24-time Grand Slam champion twice during that period.
Entering the 2024 Australian Open, it wasn't a surprise that Sinner's name was often mentioned among the favorites to win the tournament. He didn't lose a single set going into the fourth round, and that wouldn't change despite Khachanov's inspired effort.
The Russian also had three solid four-set wins, and as the 15th seed and last year's semifinalist, he certainly could have troubled the Italian, but Sinner showed everyone why he's the favorite.
In the first set, Sinner used a break point he had, and saved five from his opponent, showing how much efficiency matters, as he won the opening set 6-4, despite struggling a bit more on his serve.
The Italian faced break points also in the second set, but this time around, he was also broken. However, it didn't matter much since he broke the Russian's serve twice, and once again won the set to extend his lead, this time winning 7-5 and leading 2-0 in the match.
The 22-year-old improved his serving in the third set, not facing any break points, while having some on four out of five of his opponent's service games. The result was two broken serves and another comfortable win for the Italian 6-4, 7-5, 6-3.
Up next, Sinner will await the winner of the match between Alex de Minaur and Andrey Rublev, who will play the last singles match of the Sunday's schedule at the Rod Laver Arena.
Jannik Sinner vs Karen Khachanov Match Stats:
| Jannik Sinner | Karen Khachanov | |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Aces | 7 |
| 3 | Double Faults | 0 |
| 54% | First Serve % | 67% |
| 79% (41/52) | Points Won After First Serve % | 66% (40/61) |
| 58% (26/45) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 47% (14/30) |
| 62% (5/8) | Break Point Conversion | 10% (1/10) |
| 46 | Winners | 27 |
| 34 | Unforced Errors | 29 |
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