World No. 1 Jannik Sinner Survives Intense First-Round Challenge At Australian Open
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Jannik Sinner might have won his first-round match at the 2025 Australian Open, but it was far from a walk in the park for the young Italian.
For the first time in his tennis career, Sinner started a Grand Slam tournament as a defending champion. He won his maiden major trophy at the Australian Open 12 months ago, and now he will attempt to defend it.
But the draw gave him a proper test. His first-round opponent was Nicolas Jarry. The Chilean is ranked 36th in the world, which means that according to the ranking, he was the fourth most challenging opponent that Sinner could draw.
On top of that, the ATP World No. 1 player has a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing coming up, which he recently admitted mentally impacts him.
On the tennis court, Sinner tried to keep it all business, but his opponent was doing his best not to allow him to escape with an easy win. Both served exceptionally in the first set, hitting a total of 12 aces combined.
Still, both had to face break points as well. While Jarry had two chances to break his opponent, Sinner had three, but neither could win that one last important point. So a tie-break decided the first set of the match. Sinner was clearly the better player in the first-set tie-break, winning it 7-2.
In the second set, neither player allowed any break point chances, completely dominating on the serve. So another tie-break had to decide the set, and this time, both did well to hold their serves.
That was until Sinner led 4-3. Jarry lost two of his serves to make it 6-3 for the Italian, but Sinner surprisingly lost both of his serves as well to let his opponent come back. Still, Jarry couldn't handle the pressure when facing the third consecutive set point, and Sinner won the tie-break 7-5.
That seemed to be the breaking point in the match, as after spending over two hours on the court in the first two sets, Sinner cruised past his opponent to win the third set easily, winning the match 7-6(2), 7-6(5), 6-1.
In the second round, the top seed will play against home wild card Tristan Schoolkate. Following the win, Sinner was naturally delighted about his performance, even praising his opponent.
"I’m very happy to be back. Thank you so much for coming. The atmosphere was amazing. I think today was a very close one. He’s an incredible player. Huge potential. I’m happy with how I handled a tough situation in the first couple of sets. Happy to be in the next round."
During his on-court interview, the 23-year-old Italian was also asked about the young kids that he inspires. He had some words of advice for them but also admitted that he himself was lucky.
"You need also a bit of luck. I have to say. I was lucky to have the right people at the right time. You have to enjoy the tough moments. They will always come up. Just try to put a smile on your face. I work hard. Family and the close people in your life always come first. That’s my advice to you. I wish every young kid the best of luck."
