Jannik Sinner struggled with physical problems. © ANSA / JUANJO MARTIN
Jannik Sinner reached the round of 16 at the Masters 1000 tournament in Madrid. However, his third round game could have gone the other way.
29. April 2024
From: dl
The number 1 seed from Madrid clearly beat the Russian Pavel Kotov after 1:33 hours on paper with 6:2 and 7:5. But Sinner struggled with physical problems in the second set and kept grabbing his right hip. This area of the body had already caused Sinner problems in Monte Carlo.
As expected, Sinner completed the first round relatively quietly. Opponent Kotov has never won against a top 20 player. That’s why Sinner was the clear favorite. But at the start of the second set, the 25-year-old colossus managed a break. Sinner suffered from pain for a long time. Sinner repeatedly grabbed his hip, especially when doing the wide lunges to the right. The South Tyrolean tried to keep the rallies short in this phase, but made too many mistakes.
At this stage it seemed as if Kotov would win the second set. Sinner had problems with the many changes of direction, but then took a painkiller. Afterwards he got better going again and moved more loosely. The 22-year-old fended off a set ball during his own service. He then managed the break to make it 5:5. Kotov’s last service game was spectacular, in which he first had to fend off several match points and once wanted to surprise Sinner with a serve from below. But the Pusterer didn’t let this unsettle him and closed the bag.
“I had pain in my right hip today.” Jannik Sinner
“I had pain in my right hip today, that’s true. In some matches I feel it more, in some I don’t feel it at all. But I hope it won’t be anything serious for the rest of the tournament. Now I’m trying to recover well for tomorrow,” Sinner said in an interview after the match. In the round of 16, Sinner will meet the Russian Karen Khachanov (ATP 17) on Tuesday (from 3:30 p.m.), who almost simultaneously defeated the 21-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli (ATP 64) in two sets.