10th seed Jannik Sinner of Italy thrashed 6th seed Andrey Rublev of Russia 6-2 6-4 in the fourth round of the Miami Open on Tuesday. It was a fantastic performance from the 21-year-old Italian, who offered no respite to his opponent on the day.
The match lasted for a little more than an hour, as Sinner never took his foot off the pedal. We will now take a look at how the match progressed:
Jannik Sinner blew Rublev off the court in the first set:
Jannik Sinner produced a near-perfect display in the first set, winning it in 32 minutes. Rublev tried to overpress with his forehand and also committed a few errors off his backhand.
Sinner, on the other hand, battered the Russian with his deep returns, powerful passes and timely drop shots. Rublev tried to rush the net in a bid to shorten the rallies, but faltered on almost every such occasion.
Sinner broke Rublev in the third and fifth games of the first set and then served out the set easily. He hit 16 winners and committed only three unforced errors in the set, while Rublev could win only 11% of the points on his second serve.
Rublev improved in the second set, but Sinner was almost unbearable on the day:
Rublev showed marked improvement in the second set, putting more venom into his serve and also hitting a few blistering down-the-line forehands. However, Sinner defended superbly for the most part and was quick to pounce on any short ball provided by the Russian.
Sinner got the decisive break in the seventh game of the set and then had no problem sealing the fate of the match. He hit 28 winners and committed eight unforced errors in the match, while Rublev’s corresponding numbers were 19 and 18, respectively. The Russian fared better with his second serve in the second set, but could still end up winning only 27% of the points on it in the entire match.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
