MELBOURNE, Australia (AFP) — Fourth seed Jannik Sinner fired up his bid for a maiden Grand Slam title with a hard-fought straight-sets victory over Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp at the Australian Open on Sunday.
The 22-year-old Italian enjoyed a breakthrough 2023, winning his first Masters title, in Toronto, and making the championship match against Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals.
It sparked expectations that it is only a matter of time before he wins a major and he came through a tough encounter at Melbourne Park to open his 2024 account, beating the 59th-ranked Dutchman 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 on Rod Laver Arena.
“My first match of the season and it means a lot to start off with a win,” said Sinner, who reached his first Slam semi-final at Wimbledon last year.
“The tournament is one where I would like to play as good as possible and hopefully I can show some more in the next round.”
“Physically I feel good in good shape, the first round is never easy so I can be happy with today.”
It was Sinner’s first competitive match of the year after he opted against a warm-up tournament but he showed few signs of rust, breaking Van de Zandschulp’s opening service game and powering through the first set in 46 minutes.
But the Dutchman, a former US Open quarter-finalist, refused to go quietly, hitting the ball so hard in the second set that his racquet strings snapped.
There was little between them as they battled to 5-5 before Van de Zandschulp netted a backhand to give the Italian the crucial break and he served out for a two-set lead.
Once again, the Dutchman put up resistance in the third, breaking for a 2-0 advantage.
But it was a temporary wobble by Sinner, who responded by breaking twice in succession and surged 4-2 clear and there was no way back.
Andrey Rublev overcame a major wobble to beat Brazil’s Thiago Seyboth Wild 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 7-6 (10/6) and reach the second round.
“For sure I will not forget this match,” he said. “Thiago is a super-dangerous player, super-talented when in the mood.”
The 26-year-old fifth seed suffered the indignity of being broken in his first service game but recovered from a 0-3 deficit to take the first set.
The Russian, who warmed up for the first Grand Slam of the year by winning the Hong Kong Open, was quickly into his stride in the second set, racing into a 5-1 lead and threatening to sweep his opponent aside.
He was pegged back by 78th-ranked Seyboth Wild but regained the initiative, putting away a volley at the net to move into a two-sets-to-love lead.
Amanda Anisimova said she was feeling refreshed and enjoying herself after upsetting 13th-seeded Liudmila Samsonova on her return to Grand Slam tennis Sunday following a break to deal with mental health issues.
The 22-year-old American came out on top in her first-round clash 6-3, 6-4, two weeks after returning to action in Auckland following a period of just under eight months away.
“I’m here and feeling good, so we made it,” she said, after stepping back from the sport in May, saying it was “unbearable” being at tennis tournaments, citing mental health issues and burnout.
It was tougher for former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, who survived a scare to beat Japanese wildcard Mai Hontama 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
The Czech ninth seed, who triumphed at Roland Garros in 2021, dug deep when trailing 3-1 in the second set after losing the opener and eventually turned the tables.
