Jannik Sinner reveals an'unexpected difficulty against Elmer Moller
Jannik Sinner takes the qualification to the round of 16 of the Madrid Masters 1000, but without smiling too much. The champion from Sesto Pusteria managed to get the better of the Dane Elmer Moller with the scores of 6-2, 6-3 in an hour and eighteen minutes of the match, admitting, however, that he struggled more than the result suggests.
“This match was totally different, but gradually I managed to push a little bit more – was Sinner’s analysis to the microphones of ‘Sky Sport’ -. There was not so much rhythm and I tried to serve well in the important moments. I succeeded, and that’s okay. I think this was a step forward, but obviously we will have to see how the next one goes. I’ll have a day off tomorrow, then we’ll see what happens.”
Sinner then went into more specifics about the difficulties Moller created for him: “He was shooting really hard, so it was also useless to go to the net. However, I think from a tactical point of view we prepared this match well. Against a player I didn’t know before is always difficult. You start a match without knowing exactly what to expect, however after a couple of games I understood a little bit how to play. So I think it was a positive day.”
Technically, Sinner was very solid in response from the very first games, immediately putting the Dane’s serve in trouble. The Italian got the break in the fourth and sixth games of the first set, before in turn conceding his serve in the seventh, aided by a few too many errors. Moller also requested a medical timeout for an abdominal problem, but then resumed play suffering the decisive break that ended the first partial 6-2. In the second set, the balance held until the sixth game, when two consecutive double faults by the Dane handed the break to Sinner, who then closed comfortably 6-3.
With this success, Sinner rises to 19 consecutive wins on the circuit. In the round of 16 he will face the winner of the match between Britain’s Norrie and Argentina’s Tirante. A Madrid journey that had started with some difficulties in the opener against French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi, world number 104: after surrendering the first set on tie-break, the South Tyrolean had found the right rhythm and closed the file in 2 hours and 20 minutes with a score of 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-4.
In the background remains the historic goal that Sinner is pursuing tournament after tournament: to become the first player in tennis history to win five consecutive Masters 1000s, after titles won in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo. A goal on which the South Tyrolean prefers not to focus too much, as he has made clear in recent days: “I know what’s at stake, but I don’t want to focus too much on that. We know where we want to go, but I have to think about my body and how I feel right now.”
Making the context even more favorable for Sinner is the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, who also announced a forfeit for the Internazionali d’Italia and Roland Garros due to a right wrist injury. The Spaniard will not be able to defend the 3,000 points won between Rome and Paris last season, effectively opening an extraordinary window for the world number one, who at Roland Garros aims to complete the Career Grand Slam by winning the one Slam he still lacks.
