Sinner opens Melbourne Park account with a first-round win

MELBOURNE, Australia — With red-white-and-green flags flying and the "Carota Boys" making their presence felt in the crowd at the Rod Laver Arena on Sunday, Italy's Davis Cup star Jannik Sinner felt right at home in his opening match at the Australian Open.

Sinner enjoyed a 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 first-round, center court win over No 59-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, needing 2-and-a-half hours to claim his first victory since a memorable November, when he twice beat Novak Djokovic and won the Davis Cup.

"It means a lot to me to start off with a win," the fourth seed said in a post-match TV interview, as a half-dozen fans dressed in carrot costumes cheered from the stands.

"Physically I feel good. I'm here in good shape. I think I can be happy for today."

Sinner admitted he already has half an eye on an Australian Open semifinal against Djokovic.

The 22-year-old Italian enjoyed a breakthrough 2023, winning his first Masters title, in Toronto, and reaching the championship match against 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.

"It was good for me to get out there, and, obviously, I won in straight sets, but it was not that easy," he said.

"He played well, he served well, but I managed somehow to get the breaks at important moments. I'm happy to be back on court to compete, as that's what I love to do. So it was a nice feeling."

It was Sinner's first competitive match of the year after he opted against playing a warm-up tournament, but he showed few signs of rustiness.

Should he keep the momentum going, 10-time champion Djokovic is a potential semifinal opponent.

"It's Sunday today, there's so long to go, but for sure, (as a player) you aim for these matches," he said, when asked about the possibility of meeting the Serbian on court again.

"I don't want to say much more about it at the moment, because I feel that there is still a lot of work to do to get to that point. So yeah, let's see. Nobody can see the future.

"As I said, obviously, we aim to play big matches in big stadiums, so let's see."

Sinner broke Van de Zandschulp's opening service game and powered through the first set in 46 minutes.

But the Dutchman, a former US Open quarterfinalist, refused to lie down, hitting the ball so hard in the second set that his racket 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 he needed, and he served out for a two-set lead.

In the third set, the Dutchman once again put up a stern resistance, breaking for a 2-0 advantage.

But it was just a temporary wobble on the part of Sinner, who responded by breaking twice in succession and surged 4-2 clear — a lead that proved decisive.

Referencing his die-hard fans, Sinner joked that the "Carota Boys" were slowly upstaging him, after the group made its Australian Open debut during his opening round victory.

The group has followed Sinner to the biggest tournaments in the world, showing up dressed in carrot costumes after watching the 22-year-old tucking into the root vegetable between games during a match in Vienna in 2019.

Having previously attended the three other Grand Slams, the "Carota Boys" chronicle their travels on social media and have more than 74,000 followers on Instagram.

"I wasn't expecting them to come here, but it's nice to see them in the stands," Sinner told reporters." Obviously we have made some great memories together, with all the support they give me.

"They're getting more famous than I am. You know, I'm happy for them. It's nice to have them."

In the next round, Sinner will face Jesper de Jong who beat Argentine Pedro Cachin 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.

"Obviously, I also have to watch out for myself, because I want to win as many matches as possible, but maybe this support gives me some extra belief." Sinner added.

Agencies