Matching Report
The culprit survived Jarry’s tomb in Beijing
Italy gets the 12th victory in a row
September 26, 2024
Shi Tang/Getty Images
Jannik Sinner is chasing his seventh title of the season in Beijing.
Written by Sam Jacot
Defending champion Jannik Sinner didn’t have everything going his way in his return to the China Open on Thursday, but he found a way to get past Nicolas Jarry and claim his 12th straight victory.
This Italian player was overtaken by the Chilean who hit the best in the first set. However, the top seed was not to be denied, showing consistency, tenacity and quality to record a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 first round victory in Beijing.
“She played great tennis,” said Sinner, who is 56-5 on the season. “In the first round I was struggling to get his work back and he broke me. I tried to stay there mentally. The first round in any tournament is never easy and playing against him is very difficult. But I’m happy with how I played and how I finished the game.”
Up and Running 💥
The defending champion @janniksin coming off a layup to beat Jarry 4-6 6-3 6-1 in Beijing!@ChinaOpen | #China Open pic.twitter.com/2kEi7fWnjK
– ATP Tour (@atptour) September 26, 2024
Sinner made 11 unforced errors and produced a number of stunning passes to blunt direct approaches from Jarry, who upset then World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz with the biggest win of his career in Buenos Aires in February.
“The first one was good, the second one I need to improve a bit,” said Sinner, who won 82 percent (37/45) of his first points according to Infosys ATP Stats. “He was coming back aggressively, so it’s not easy. Since after the US Open we tried to work hard, we changed a few things but we’re happy with my process.”
Last year, Sinner climbed to the title at the ATP 500 event in Beijing. His run in the Chinese capital was a major step for the 23-year-old to become the Italian No. 1. 1 in the history of the PIF ATP Rankings (since 1973).
Sinner has won seven major titles on Tour, including majors at the Australian Open and the US Open, since his title in Beijing in 2023. Competing for the first time since winning the trophy in New York earlier this month, Sinner will play next. lucky loser Roman Safiullin or World No. 3 former Stan Wawrinka.
The top seed, who leveled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Jarry at 1-1 following his one-hour, 55-minute victory, qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals last month. The Italian player will be hoping to go one step better at this prestigious event to end the year in November, as he lost the title match to Novak Djokovic last season.
