Italy’s Jannik Sinner celebrates after victory against Netherlands’ Botic van de Zandschulp during their men’s singles match on day one of the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 14, 2024. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST / 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 2024 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.
At a career-high four in the world, Sinner also won titles last year in Montpellier, Vienna and Beijing, and was instrumental in helping Italy win the Davis Cup.