Sinner needs four sets to see off wildcard Schoolkate at Australian Open
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Jannik Sinner escaped an early ambush from the local wildcard Tristan Schoolkate to book a place in the third round in his defence of the Australian Open, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in 183 minutes on a captivated Rod Laver Arena. The result looked anything but certain after the 23-year-old West Australian, who tried and failed in qualification at Melbourne Park for five consecutive years, proved he belongs on the highest stage with an accomplished, high-energy first set against the world No 1.
At that stage close to 15,000 fans dared to imagine a remarkable upset. Yet Sinner – who was troubled by the conditions on a windy evening – elevated his play as the match wore on and in the end was comfortable in victory. “Every round here is very tough,” he said. “Everyone here in the first round, second round and third round deserves to be there. It was a very tough match, [but] I can improve.”.
Schoolkate, who has been grinding on the edges of the professional tour for years, has won at Flushing Meadows and Melbourne Park in the past six months, but when the match started there were plenty of empty seats, suggesting even the home fans had little belief in the underdog.
It would soon fill during a first set that had the defending champion scrambling. The barely believable break arrived at 5-4, when the Australian leaped to a 0-40 advantage and the first “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chant rung out. Sinner appeared rattled and had to reset his serve when he was distracted by the escalating noise.
