Jannik Sinner fights back in second set: 1-1 with Khachanov
Jannik Sinner reacts in the second set: 1-1 with Khachanov
One set apiece for Jannik Sinner and Karen Khachanov in the Madrid Masters 1000 round of 16. After the Russian tennis player’s 7-5 win in the first partial came the Italian’s reaction in the second set, which closed 6-3 in favor of the athlete from San Candido.
Initial balance in the first set, the services have the upper hand. The world number two apart from a somewhat problematic start has no problems at the serve, but at the same time he does not find the right countermeasures to oppose Khachanov’s serve, perhaps also affected by the hip trouble. In the 11th game comes a surprise break for the Russian, who takes advantage of a double fault by Jannik and immediately seizes the opportunity by stealing service from the Italian, who then is unable to react. 7-5 Khachanov.
Sinner’s reaction was not long in coming: in the second set, the South Tyrolean immediately broke the Russian in the second game, taking advantage of two Khachanov errors. The San Candido athlete, growing physically, took advantage of his opponent's decline to quickly close out the partial 6-3.
Sinner decided to play overcoming doubts of the last few hours, after the hip resentment suffered Monday during the match against Russian Pavel Kotov. The Italian tested his condition in training a few hours before the match and together with his staff decided to continue the tournament.
In the past few days, the South Tyrolean tennis player has specified several times that he considers the Madrid Masters 1000 as a transition tournament, ahead of the Internazionali d'Italia and Roland Garros scheduled in the coming weeks.
