Sinner, heroic performance
(Marco Calabresi) In Jannik Sinner’s vocabulary the word renunciation does not exist. But in 2024 the word defeat almost never even exists. There had been a real risk that the match against Karen Khachanov Sinner didn’t play it: instead not only did he play it, but he also won it, remaining on the court for over two hours and overcoming a set deficit. In Madrid it ended 5-7 6-3 6-3, with Sinner going through the round of 16, tomorrow he will have the chance to rest and on Thursday he will face one of Casper Ruud or Felix Auger Aliassime. With the one against the Russian, there are 28 victories in 30 matches, but above all a demonstration of stratospheric mental and physical strength, when the world expected nothing more than the news of his retirement.
Sinner took to the field at 12.30 to check the condition of his right hip, the one that had made him hesitant after the match against Kotov: once he understood that there were no contraindications, he didn’t have the slightest doubt. «In the first set I made a few too many mistakes, but I regained my concentration – these are the first words of Sinner -. In the third, however, I started to suffer again, I had two rounds of serve with break points to defend but I recovered. I chose to play at the last minute, but physically I was 100% and when I have the chance to play I really like to do it. And then I knew that by winning today I could rest tomorrow. Today I felt better than yesterday, I’m still not as good as I would like but I’m giving everything to play at my best: last year I wasn’t able to be here and I was very sorry.”
Unlike the first two games against Sonego And Kotov, the bad weather gave a respite: they played with the roof open and even with some rays of sunshine, but the start wasn’t easy for the Italian, who had to cancel three break points in the third game. Khachanov, instead, on his serve he almost never let Sinner get closer, and he won the first set by taking advantage of a double fault at 30-30 in the eleventh game, a forehand error and then a poorly managed drop, then keeping the serve at zero joke.
Sinner, however, felt neither the pain nor the fatigue, he started rowing again as if nothing had happened, and earned the first break points of the match in the second game: the first was good, with a backhand at the net that the Khachanov of the first if he probably wouldn’t have made a mistake. Jannik’s second set was a concentration of power and quality, with that break carried to the conclusion and up to a forehand cue from the Russian. The match finally turned when Sinner canceled two break points at the beginning of the third set: one in the second game and one in the fourth, granted with an error on the short ball but defused with an external serve combined with a forehand volley. Khachanov, who hoped to win without playing or to win after taking home the first set, instead folded in the fifth game, with two masterpieces from Sinner that earned the break and brought the Madrid crowd to their feet. The closure with the passer was a jewel: unthinkable until a few hours ago, when he was thinking about whether to play or not.
