After surviving an early scare in his opening round match, top-seeded Jannik Sinner takes on 20-year-old Alex Michelsen in round two action at the US Open on Thursday.
The reigning Australian Open champion recovered from an opening set defeat Tuesday to eliminate Mackenzie McDonald 2-6 6-2 6-1 6-2, while Michelsen got past Eliot Spizzirri in straight sets 6-1 7-5 6-3.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite a shockingly poor opening set on Tuesday, Jannik Sinner showed his class as the match wore on, advancing beyond the opening round at the US Open for a fourth successive occasion.
His powerful first serve helped him get back into that contest, winning 75% of his first serve points, while McDonald only converted 54% of his.
The man from Northern Italy has been virtually unstoppable when on serve, winning 92% of his service games on the hard court this year and saving 77% of his break points.
Possessing one of the strongest two-handed-backhand shots on the men's side served him well on Tuesday, with the Italian converting 52% of his break point opportunities.
Sinner has thrived on the hard court throughout the year, suffering just two defeats on that surface in 2024, beating American Frances Tiafoe to capture the Cincinnati Open crown earlier this month.
Four of his five tournament victories this year were on the hard court, including his first career Grand Slam title at the beginning of 2024 when he stormed back from two sets down to defeat Daniil Medvedev 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3.
© Imago
From the outset of his opening match, Alex Michelsen looked extremely sharp in front of the home crowd at Flushing Meadows, making it to the second round of this tournament for a second successive campaign.
The native of California had his service game working throughout the afternoon, winning 70% of his first serve points, leading to his opponent committing 31 unforced errors.
Meanwhile, Michelsen converted 69% of his break points, winning the match in just under two hours and advancing beyond the first round of a Grand Slam for the second time this year after making it to round three of the Australian Open.
Since the beginning of 2023, Michelsen has only advanced beyond round two at one Grand Slam event in his singles career, coming back to beat Jiri Lehecka at this stage of the Aussie Open in January 4-6 6-3 6-4 6-4.
Seeded 49th at this tournament, he is the youngest player ranked in the top 50 and has produced some strong results on the doubles side recently, as he and partner Mackenzie McDonald upset top-seeded Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos in the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open only to lose the final in straight sets versus Mate Pavic and Marcelo Arevalo.
This year, the American has won 81% of his service games on the hard court, including 71% of his first serve points, while saving 61% of his break points when on serve.
Tournament so far
Jannik Sinner:
First round: vs. Mackenzie McDonald 2-6 6-2 6-1 6-2
Alex Michelsen:
First round: vs. Eliot Spizzirri in straight sets 6-1 7-5 6-3
Head To Head
Cincinnati Open (2024)- Round of 32- Sinner wins 6-4 7-5
Not long ago, these two squared off for the first time, and on the hard court in Cincinnati, Sinner won 71% of his first serve points and did not concede a single break point to the American, while the Italian had nine aces to Michelsen's one.
We say: Sinner to win in three sets
Michelsen has recently pulled off some upsets on the doubles side, but as his partner McDonald discovered in the opening round, you need to be on your game at almost every instance to get the better of Sinner, and we believe the Italian will be too strong on the day.
Joel Lefevre
