Sinner doesn't drop a set on his way to the Australian Open quarterfinals

Australia's Jannik Sinner became the most impressive player of the first week of the Australian Open when he quickly defeated Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth round on January 21.

No player other than Sinner has won 12 consecutive sets since the start of the tournament. The fourth seed was expected to have trouble with Khachanov's serve, but he overcame his Russian opponent. Sinner made his senior commit 15 unforced errors in the second set alone.

Sinner doesn't drop a set on his way to the Australian Open quarterfinals

Sinner had an inconsistent day on serve, but he did well on key points. He saved nine of 10 break points faced thanks to his defensive backcourt. The fourth seed’s deep drives to the corners exploited Khachanov’s movement weaknesses. The Italian also returned well, converting five of eight opportunities to win a return game.

Sinner, 22, has reached the second most Grand Slam quarterfinals with six, equalling Matteo Berrettini's record and needs five more to break Nicola Pietrangeli's record. Sinner will play another Russian, Andrey Rublev, in the quarterfinals. Rublev needed five sets to beat Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-0.

"Obviously I'm happy with the results so far," Sinner said in his post-match interview. "It's nice to be in the quarter-finals. Every game is different so I have to be ready for a different scenario for sure in the next game."

Sinner has reached at least the quarterfinals in five of the last nine Grand Slams. His form since the 2023 US Open has been excellent, winning 24 of his 26 matches. His two defeats came at the hands of Ben Shelton at the Shanghai Masters and Novak Djokovic in the final of the ATP Finals.

In the women's singles, 16-year-old sensation Mirra Andreeva ended her Australian adventure with a 6-4, 3-6, 2-6 loss to ninth seed Barbora Krejcikova. Meanwhile, the two title contenders, Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff, both won quickly. Sabalenka defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 6-2, while Gauff defeated Magdalena Frech 6-1, 6-2.

Vy Anh

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