World No. 1 Jannik Sinner sailed into the third round of the US Open men's singles thanks to a convincing straight-sets victory over American Alex Michelsen, wrapping it up 6-4, 6-0, 6-2. The victory gives Sinner his 50th of the season and his 30th on hard courts to lead the tour in both categories.
But Sinner turned what could have been an unyielding match into a comfortable win Thursday afternoon at Arthur Ashe Stadium against the No. 49-ranked NextGenATP player.
The top seed made it a great 2024, capturing his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open among five overall this year. Aggressive all the match, the 23-year-old Italian continually forced Michelsen into errors with powerful and pinpoint shots to earn his second victory over the 20-year-old this month.
Having beaten Michelsen in their first ATP match, Sinner also secured the title in Cincinnati and reached the US Open third round for the fourth consecutive year. He faces Christopher O'Connell next.
Sinner made the most of 50 percent of the eight break points he gained, with Michelsen only able to convert two. The key to Sinner's success came in the form of an 81% first serve win rate, a figure that was way out of the reach of Michelsen's 65%. Michelsen committed five double faults in the match.
At the net, Sinner won 75% of his points while Michelsen could only manage 33%.
Although Sinner began the encounter in tepid style, losing serve in his opening game, the Italian increased his level of aggression from the baseline the further the first set went. He came out on top in the ninth game of the set.
Once ahead, Sinner seized on the unforced errors from Michelsen's racquet - there were 31 from the Norwegian - to wrap up the victory in one hour and 40 minutes.
The Italian's best performance in New York came in 2022 when he lost to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set quarterfinal marathon.
It was the other way around in some of the matches on Day 3 as Czech Tomas Machac sprang an upset by beating 16th seed Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round at a hard-court major for the first time. Italian Matteo Arnaldi also advanced beating Roman Safiullin 6-2, 6-4, 6-4.
Arnaldi, ranked No. 30, will face Jordan Thompson next, who surprised seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz with a 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-5 win. Machac will compete against either David Goffin or Adrian Mannarino.
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