After the triumph in Toronto, the South Tyrolean comes
beaten on his debut by the world No. 66 for 6-4 7-6
Dusan Lajovic is the man who interrupts Jannik Sinner’s streak of successes, eliminating the blue in his first match in the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, after the triumph in Toronto. The Serbian, No. 66 in the world, with an essential but extremely effective tennis, takes advantage of the fatigue of the blue, who touches his back several times during the match and seems tired, obtaining the pass for the round of 16. It ends 6-4 7-6 (4) for Lajovic, who in two hours and 5 minutes ruins Sinner’s 22nd birthday, who had too little time to recover after winning his first 1000 in his career.
the match
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Sinner, certainly not on his best day, is almost never able to pick up the pace. In the first set Lajovic gets 29 points against the blue’s 27, but it’s the break point in the seventh game (the only one in the whole set) that directs the match and allows Dusan to close the first set 6-4. Jannik’s mistakes that propitiate the break are a forehand in the middle of the net and a long backhand. In the second set, the number 4 of the race grows a lot and Lajovic has to work overtime. The Serbian cancels 3 break points in the second game by holding on to his serve (he cancels another one in the fourth game) and manages to stay on serve until 4-4, when his show begins. A stop volley on Sinner’s serve directs the ninth game: at 30-30 Sinner gets nervous due to a warning and sends a backhand into the middle of the net, giving Lajovic the second chance of the game to break. The referee calls Sinner another 25-second violation and Jannik serves the second directly, still managing to save himself. The game lasts 17 minutes, but Jannik doesn’t give up and closes with a serve & volley. At 5-4 the pressure goes all on the Serbian, who psychologically doesn’t give in a millimeter and goes straight to the tie-break. There the South Tyrolean immediately goes ahead 2-0 conquering a mini-break, but Lajovic doesn’t give up and goes back up to 3-3. At the change of field, the Serbian opens with an ace and then propitiates a forehand in the corridor from Sinner. The ace of 4-5 for Jannik is not enough, who scores the next two shots and leaves the tournament. Lajovic will play against Fritz in the round of 16.