Jannik Sinner rose to the challenge of a former US Open champion Saturday in New York, where the sixth-seeded Italian overcame Stan Wawrinka 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.
In a clash between two of the purest baseline strikers on Tour, Sinner stayed clutch at key moments to secure a two-hour, 58-minute triumph on Louis Armstrong Stadium. He converted five of 13 break points he earned, keeping his cool impressively after 2016 titlist Wawrinka had charged to the second set to level the pair’s sixth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting.
𝐒𝐈𝐍tillating 💎@janniksin battles past Wawrinka in four sets to reach the last 16 in New York and now awaits the winner of Zverev/Dimitrov 🔜@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/FTTk3HQZih
— ATP Tour (@atptour) September 2, 2023
The first of those clashes between Sinner and Wawrinka also took place in New York in 2019, when Wawrinka ousted a then-18-year-old Sinner across four sets on the Italian’s Grand Slam main-draw debut. Fast forward four years and Sinner showed why he is now an established Top 10 star, as he shut down Wawrinka’s revival with some razor-sharp returning that earned him two breaks of serve in each of the third and fourth sets.
“Obviously in four years a couple of things have changed, but I’m happy about my performance today,” said Sinner in his on-court interview. “I feel I wasn’t playing at my best, as he wasn’t playing at his best, but in key moments I handled it in a better way than him and I’m happy to be in the next round.”
Sinner spoke earlier in the week about how his coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill had been encouraging him to work on his net game. The Italian appeared keen to heed that advice against Wawrinka, as he won 81 per cent (21/26) of points moving forward.
Victories for Sinner and top seed Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday mean a quarter-final rematch between the pair remains a possibility. Alcaraz saved match point before defeating Sinner in the last eight at the 2022 US Open, one of the most thrilling matches in recent memory.
Sinner lifted the biggest trophy of his career at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Toronto last month and the Italian is now 44-12 for the season. He could rise into the Top 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time after the US Open if he beats Alexander Zverev or Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, but the 22-year-old is not getting ahead of himself despite his recent good form.
“The confidence level is a little bit different,” said Sinner. “I’m very happy to be in the second week of a Grand Slam again, it always means a lot. Hopefully I can raise my level every time I play, knowing that every time I step on court I’m trying to give it my best shot. Let’s see how the next round goes.”
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