Defending champion Jannik Sinner made short work of his second round match on Rod Laver Arena, defeating James Duckworth 6-1 6-4 6-2.
The Italian second seed was in imperious form for much of the contest, and James Duckworth, who had come through a gruelling five-set first round epic against Dino Prižmić, was unable to cope with the sheer power of his opponent today.
Sinner also showcased greater variety throughout the match, frequently mixing in drop shots during rallies, although they were not always executed with success.
The opening two games were shared, but the signs were already ominous for the Australian wildcard, who was dragged to deuce and forced to battle hard just to get on the board at 1–1.
From there, Sinner, whose forehand and backhand were already in full flow, rattled off five consecutive games to wrap up the opening set in just 25 minutes.
Duckworth settled into the second set and was much improved, earning a break point that Sinner snuffed out in the second game before saving three more on his own serve to edge 3–2 ahead after a brilliant fifth game.
It only takes a moment for Sinner to make his move, and at 3–3 he capitalised on a slight dip in Duckworth’s service level to secure the decisive break, before serving out the remainder of the set to move two ahead.
A deflated Duckworth was fully exposed by Sinner’s supremacy in the third set, as the Italian struck twice on return to surge into a commanding 4–0 lead. With the remaining games passing routinely on serve, Sinner closed out the match emphatically, firing down two aces to seal another commanding victory for the two-time champion.
In his post-match interview Sinner was quick to salute his opponent.
“I’m very happy about my performance. I know he (Duckworth) had so many surgeries in his past, so it’s great to see him competing at the highest level so I wish him only the best for the rest of the season.”
He also shared his thoughts on where he stands competitively, with this marking his first tournament since lifting the ATP Finals title in mid-November.
“I fell like I’m in a good shape at the moment. Depending how matches go we decide on the work to do. I’m very happy, I know how much work we put in. The body feels good and the mind is in a good moment.”
When pressed on the changes needed to his game that he had alluded to following his US Open final defeat, Sinner was characteristically honest in his self-assessment.
“Drop shots we still have to work on, some don’t arrive to the net. I’m happy where I am but we try to keep working, keep pushing then we’ll see how far we can go.”
Sinner will face American Eliot Spizzirri in the third round.
