(New York-Flushing Meadows) - World number one Jannik Sinner achieves his 50th win of the season at the 2024 US Open by outlasting American Alex Michelsen in straight sets, locking his spot in the third round at Flushing Meadows on Thursday afternoon.
The Arthur Ashe Stadium welcomed top seed Jannik Sinner and home hope Alex Michelsen, facing one another for the second time at tour level, a rematch of their recent Cincinnati clash.
The Italian, who leads the ATP men’s singles ranking, dominated the contest, recording a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 win in one hour and 39 minutes and now leads their series 2-0, progressing to the third round with consistency at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
In his on-court interview, he shared: “[I’m] very happy to be through against a very tough opponent. I always enjoy playing here, and every match is different. I am very happy, so we’ll see what’s coming.”
Moreover, in his sixth US Open appearance, the San Candido native will next meet Australian Christopher O'Connell, who took out Italian Mattia Bellucci in four sets after two hours and 48 minutes.
They met twice before at tour level, tied in their series 1-1, having played for the last time at the Miami Open this season, a matchup Italy’s top racquet won in straight sets, mastering his performance on the return, en route to lifting the Masters 1000 trophy.
The Match as It Happened
Michelsen, currently at a career-high ranking world No. 49, challenged the Australian Open champion, breaking twice to set the score even at 4-4 in the opener.
Eventually, Sinner raised his level to seal the first set 6-4 in 42 minutes and never looked back.
The first set escaped the American, taking a toll on the 20-year-old from California, who could not find his foot into a second set, dominated by the Italian from the onset. Even his body language changed on the court as his adversary stormed to a statement 6-0 second set win.
From there, Sinner sailed to wrap up proceedings in the third set, rock solid behind his serve - won 81 percent of the points on his first delivery.
In addition, he converted eight of 16 break-point opportunities, charging at the net with accuracy to earn 75 percent of his approaches.
Moreover, he hit 28 winners against 24 unforced errors compared to Michelsen, 13 and 32, respectively.
Despite losing Thursday’s clash at his home slam, the young Californian player has built a solid path through a standout season, collecting 24 of his 31 wins on tour in 2024.
The 15-time ATP titlist continues on a potential collision course with former champions Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals and world Carlos Alcaraz in the last four.
He moved freely, with no signs of the hip injury that limited his movement on the court during previous tournaments.
Furthermore, the improvement from the opening match to his second-rounder was notorious.
During his post-match press conference, he spoke about his performance, commenting: “It was a real improvement. I am looking to get better in the next days. I had a small practice session after the match, trying to keep going, trying to understand what works here best on these courts.”
Sinner launched his campaign in New York with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 6-2 win against another American, world No. 140 Mackenzie McDonald.
Elsewhere, fellow countryman Matteo Arnaldi knocked out world No. 57 Roman Safiullin 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 in barely over two hours.
On Saturday, the 30th seed will square off against Australian Jordan Thompson, who stunned seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets earlier in the day.
