Jannik Sinner reveals his main weakness and it could be his undoing at China Open
Jannik Sinner has won his first match back since the US Open.
Jannik Sinner has made a candid admission over his service struggles despite winning through to the second round of the China Open. The world No.1 was made to work hard by Chile's Nicolas Jarry in Beijing, coming from behind to prevail 4-6 6-3 6-1.
The Italian has enjoyed a dominant season so far, especially on the hard courts.
He’s captured both the Australian Open and US Open titles, albeit amid the controversy of escaping a ban for a failed drugs test in March.
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However, he appeared to be up against it with his second serve against Jarry, frequently struggling with the returns of his opponent in the opening set. And afterwards, the 23-year-old conceded it was an area of his game he has to work on.
"The second serve I still have to improve a little bit,” he said. “He was returning very aggressively, it's not easy. After the US Open we worked very hard on the serve, I'm happy about my process, obviously there is still a lot of room to improve."
Sinner, playing his first tournament since his success at Flushing Meadows, also praised his opponent after he had threatened an upset win. "He played some very good tennis, the first set, he was serving very well, I was struggling to return his serve," he said.
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"I just tried to stay in there mentally, first round in a competition is always tough, and playing against him is very tough. But I’m happy about the performance and how I ended the match.”
It was a poignant triumph for the game’s newest star Sinner, who was also playing his first match since the death of his aunt, Margith Rauchegger. And after converting match point, he blew a kiss to the sky amid a muted celebration.
He had previously dedicated his US Open victory to the same person, and returned straight home after the tournament. Rauchegger died days later, which has been cited as another reason for the star taking a short break from competing.
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Sinner will now play the winner of the match between Roman Safiullin and veteran Stan Wawrinka. And he remains the favourite to retain the title he claimed by beating Daniil Medvedev in the 2023 final.
Following the China Open, Sinner is also scheduled to play in Shanghai. He’ll then return to Europe for the ATP Finals on home soil in Turin, as well as the Davis Cup finals in Manchester.
