Jannik Sinner was pushed to the limit in his opening match at the US Open, but the Italian got back on track Thursday.
The 11th seed eliminated American Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 7-6(8), 6-2 to reach the third round at Flushing Meadows for the second consecutive year. He will next play former World No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov or American Brandon Nakashima.
In the first round, Sinner needed three hours and 35 minutes across five sets to claw past German Daniel Altmaier. Against Eubanks, he needed two hours and 24 minutes.
[ATP APP]
It was by no means a stress-free win for Sinner, who was tested in a lengthy second-set tie-break, in which he needed four set points. But once the 2019 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion escaped that tie-break, he surged to the finish line.
Sinner converted four of his 12 break points and made just 16 unforced errors compared to 51 for Eubanks in a two-hour, 24-minute victory. Eubanks is now 0-11 against Top-50 players.
It has been a successful year for Sinner at the Grand Slam championships. The Italian made the quarter-finals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and also advanced to the fourth round at Roland Garros. Sinner claimed his sixth ATP Tour title in Umag.
