Jannik Sinner is back on the tennis courts, and his first match of the 2024 season was an impressive win at the 2024 Kooyong Classic.
Unlike some of his colleagues, Sinner chose a different approach to the new season, and he did not sign up for any ATP tournaments in the first two weeks prior to the Australian Open.
Still, the 22-year-old wanted to get some match practice ahead of the season's first Grand Slam, so he signed up for the Kooyong Classic, which is an exhibition event held in a historic tennis club in Melbourne, not far from where the Australian major is played.
In his first match at the tournament, the Italian had a very beatable opponent, and one that he could easily face in the opening rounds of his Australian Open campaign, as he took on the world no. 156, Marc Polmans from Australia.
During the match, it was clear that the world no. 4 was the much better player, but what was most impressive was his returning masterclass. Although he also lost his serve in the match, except for one, he had break points in every single game during the match.
Sinner had a total of four break points in the first three games of the match, but what he struggled with early on was efficiency. However, he broke his opponent's serve in game five to lead 3-2, but Polmans was able to break back and make it 3-3.
After his only hold without facing break points, the Australian led 4-3, but little did he know, that he wouldn't win any more games after that. Not just in the opening set, but in the match.
Sinner won the first set 6-4, after saving a couple of break points himself, and then using the chance presented in the following game, and finishing things off on his serve, and in the second set, it was a one-man show.
The Italian wasn't super-impressive on his serve, but he was good enough not to face break points. On the other hand, on his opponent's serve, he created five chances to break and used three, and that produced a very dominant scoreline as Sinner won the match 6-4, 6-0.
Now, the Italian will most likely want to play one more match before the Australian Open, where he will head as the fourth seed and one of the top favourites to win the title.
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