Miami (AFP) – World number three Jannik Sinner moved into the semi-finals of the Miami Open in emphatic style on Wednesday, beating Czech Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-2.
Italian Sinner, who won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open this year, will play in his fourth semi of the season after dealing with lively Machac in 91 minutes.
Sinner broke the opening game serve from the Czech but Machac responded immediately to make it 1-1. The crowd were on their feet to appreciate some brilliant defensive play from Sinner who eventually took charge of the set, breaking to go 4-3 up and then closing out.
The second set was more straightforward with Sinner breaking in the third game and never looking back. Despite the comfortable margin of the win, Sinner said Machac deserved praise for his energetic and aggressive performance.
“He has an incredible talent. He is super fast, also physically he is in great shape,” said the world number three. “I didn’t know exactly what to expect today. The first games I was looking a little bit at what kind of tactics could work or not,” he added.
“I played good, especially in the important moments of the match, which makes it… the scoreboard, you see the score, but it’s sometimes lying. Today was a little bit like that,” said Sinner.
The 22-year-old will next face the winner of Wednesday’s other quarter-final between defending champion Daniil Medvedev and Chile’s Nicolas Jarry.
© 2024 AFP
