By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
And that is why, he is the world’s no. 1 male tennis player.
Too powerful and too crafty, Jannik Sinner thrashed Alex de Minaur- 6.3, 6.2, 6.1- to book a semifinal seat in the ongoing Australian Open Grand Slam event on January 22, 2025, at the world- famous Rod Laver Arena in Australia.
Despite playing in a de Minaur-pro crowd as a representative of Australia, Sinner didn’t fold in the pressure and mauled the hometown bet with his down-the-line forehand bombs.
His groundstrokes packed with unmatched power driven by a flat stroke didn’t let de Minaur pick up any momentum and spoiled his scoring run midway through the first set.
After a series of winners from Sinner, de Minaur appeared to gain some footing in the match after holding his service possession while pulling off an 18-shot rally point that forced the crowd to roar in excitement.
However, the calm and collected Sinner waited for the right timing to intrude de Minaur’s hitting space and crowded the net area with an unexpected serve-and-volley switch.
Surprised with the adjustment, de Minaur failed to sustain his scoring run and conceded the final two sets, allowing Sinner to take the first frame for a 1-0 lead.
It was then all Sinner in the final two periods as the 23-year-old Italian ace overpowered his way to a string of unreturned power hits. With the quick events that happened at the end of the second set, it was as if he was a man in a hurry, finishing rally exchanges with just one lethal forehand slam.
“These kinds of matches, they can go quickly, but also they can change very fast if I go down with my level a little bit and he takes opportunities. I’m very happy about my performance today,” said Sinner after the lopsided quarterfinal win.
In just two hours of tennis action, Sinner accumulated six total break points, 37 receiving points won, and an impressive 86 offensive points won.
Sinner will only have several hours of recovery before returning to the Rod Laver Arena today, against the rolling American Ben Shelton in the semifinal stage.
