Jannik Sinner beat Olympic silver medallist Karen Khachanov 6-4 7-5 6-3 to reach the quarter final at the Australian Open on the Margaret Court Arena in Melbourne. Sinner converted five of eight break points throughout the match.
Sinner struggled with his serve at the start of the match. Khachanov, who reached the Australian Open semifinal last year and won three four-set matches at this edition, drew 15 unforced errors from Sinner in the second set and earned ten break points over the past two sets, but he converted just one of these opportunities. By contrast, Sinner converted all three of his break points in the first two sets.
Sinner converted a break point to love in the first game and saved five break points to win the first set 6-4.
Sinner broke in the first game of the second set. Khachanov broke straight back in the second game. The Italian player saved two break points in his next service game and was forced to fend off two more break points in the eighth game.
Khachanov went up 40-15 in the 11th game after ending a 29-shot rally with a running forehand winner.
Sinner won four consecutive points to break for the second time with a forehand down the line winner at the end of an 18-shot rally. Sinner sealed the second set 7-5 with an ace after nearly two hours on court.
Sinner did not face any break points in the third set, while he earned five break points on four out of five of Khachanov’s service games.
Khachanov saved three break points in the third set, but Sinner converted his fourth chance after a forehand error from his Russian opponent in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. Sinner played his best tennis in the final two games and hit two more winners to add to his tally of 46 breaking serve for the second time on his match point to reach the quarter final at the Australian Open.
Sinner will face the winner of the match between Alex De Minaur and Andrey Rublev in the quarter final.
Sinner has moved into a tie for second for the most quarter final appearances at Grand Slam tournaments by an Italian male player. Only tennis legend Nicola Pietrangeli did better reaching ten Grand Slam quarter finals.
Sinner reached the Australian Open quarter final in 2022 and lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round in 2023.
Sinner advanced to quarter finals or better in five of his past nine Grand Slam appearances. Sinner has won 24 of 26 matches played since last September’s US Open. He lost to Ben Shelton in a third set tie-break at the Shanghai Masters 1000 and to Novak Djokovic in the Nitto ATP Finals championships match in Turin. He beat Djokovic in the round robin match at the ATP Finals and in the Davis Cup semifinals.
“It was for sure a different match today. I felt like we both were hitting the ball really well from the back of the court. Every match is obviously different. It’s a pleasure to be in the quarter final. I am happy with the outcome of the match”, said Sinner.
