ATP Tour

Sinner, De Minaur remain on Australian Open collision course

After beating Botic van de Zandschulp in three tight sets to open his Australian Open campaign, Jannik Sinner lifted his level against another Dutch opponent on Wednesday in Melbourne. The fourth seed defeated qualifier Jesper De Jong 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in Margaret Court Arena to reach the AO third round for the third time.

"It doesn't really matter who you play against. You fear nobody but have a lot of respect for everyone," Sinner said after defeating the World No. 161. "This is what I try to show to everyone."

The 22-year-old advanced to the quarter-finals at the year's first major in 2022 and exited in the fourth round last year. But Sinner will have higher expectations this season, entering with a career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking of No. 4.

All business 💼@janniksin is moving on after getting past De Jong 6-2 6-2 6-2.
@AustralianOpen| #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/8iYS3uIRIB

— ATP Tour (@atptour) January 17, 2024

While rain delayed play on the outer courts at Melbourne Park, Sinner wasted no time in booking his place in the third round. The Italian did not face a break point in the one-hour, 45-minute victory and played much of the match on the front foot behind strong serving and early baseline attacks. He lost just 10 points on serve while converting on six of 12 break chances.

Sinner's strong start at the Australian Open carries his momentum from the end of 2023 into the new year. The Italian reached the Nitto ATP Finals title match in November — beating Novak Djokovic in group play — before leading Italy to the Davis Cup title. The Aussie Open is his first event of 2024, and he has yet to drop a set in Melbourne.

De Jong was competing in his first Grand Slam main draw after a successful qualifying campaign. The 23-year-old beat Pedro Cachin in four first-round sets before losing in his first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Sinner.

"He's a very good player... He's a young player. I wish him all the best," Sinner said of his Dutch opponent. "I'm sure that he is going to play so many more matches in Grand Slam main draws."

Australian Alex de Minaur continued his impressive start to the season, defeating Italian Matteo Arnaldi 6-3, 6-0, 6-3 to reach the third round in Melbourne for the fifth time.

The World No. 10, who is 5-1 on the season, was too consistent for his 22-year-old opponent under the roof on Rod Laver Arena. De Minaur committed 29 unforced errors compared to 52 from Arnaldi and was dominant at the net, winning 18 of 19 points when moving forward according to Infosys ATP Stats. He also won 11 straight games.

De Minaur's best result at his home major is fourth-round runs in 2022 and 2023. The 24-year-old will aim to match that when he next plays Pavel Kotov or Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli.

De Minaur said that he was pleased to be through to the third round having spent less than four hours on court, but that he had not yet produced his best tennis in his first two matches.

“I think so far I have done what I needed to do to win the matches,” he said. “It hasn't been probably the prettiest of levels or my best level. I played two opponents where maybe I haven't been allowed to be as aggressive as I would like, because they've got a lot of firepower. But I do think I've got a lot more to show.

“Over the years you have come to learn how important it is to conserve the energy because it is a long two weeks if you want to get to the end of the tournament, and that's ultimately the goal. Now, I have learnt that the first week is all about getting through, finding ways to get through.”