World No. 1 and US Open defending Champion, Jannik Sinner, moved to the Round of 16 after a hard-fought, third-round victory over Canadian Shapovalov at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. The Italian, though a bit unconvincing, still managed to pull off a win in 4 sets, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3.
I have rarely seen Sinner drop serve, and even more rarely have I seen him drop a set. Both of these rare instances occurred in the same match, as Sinner struggled to get his game together against Shapovalov.
The left-handed Shapovalov started well, serving brilliantly and matched Sinner stroke for stroke. His top-spin forehand that came out with great speed and whip made it difficult for Sinner to gauge as Shapovalov gained ascendancy in the set, breaking Sinner in an unprecedented moment. But Sinner shot back, broke Shapovalov to square the set at 5-5. Shapovalov held serve to march ahead 6-5 and then, against all expectations, Sinner lost serve with a double fault to hand over Shapovalov the first set 7-5.
There was an uneasy buzz in the stadium. Sinner losing the set was big news. Was an upset on the cards? But Sinner, though playing still at 60% of his capacity, out of rhythm, error-ridden, and finding it difficult to negotiate Shapovalov’s forehand, managed to win the second set 6-4 and square up the match.
There was more surprise in the offing as Shapovalov broke Sinner again in the third set and took a 3-0 lead. The Canadian was fighting hard, but then the turning point of the match arrived. At 0-30 with Sinner serving, Shapovalov had a chance to run away with the set, but Sinner showed why he is the No. 1 player in the world. He got to 30-all and then won 6 games in a row to win the 3rd set 6-3.
Sinner continued his dominance and won 3 straight games in the 4th set, to win 9 games in a row. It was all over for Shapovalov. A slugfest that had ensued had turned into a one-way affair. Sinner winning the 4th set 6-3 and with it the match.
Sinner, though had an error-prone contest, won 85% of the points on his first serve, which effectively turned the match in his favour. Shapovalov could win only 70% and had 9 double faults to Sinner’s 5. Eventually, Sinner won 128 points to Shapovalov’s 108 and emerged victorious.
Sinner for once had to play catch-up up which is a rare sight. The Champion will be locking horns with the enigmatic but hugely talented and the one of only two players to have beaten Sinner this year, Alexander Bublik, in the Round of 16. Bublik came through a marathon five-setter against the American Tommy Paul.
The US Open is interestingly poised as it enters the second week and the business end of the Tournament.
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