Jannik Sinner Advances to Fourth Round After Straight-Sets Victory Over Chris O’Connell at US Open 2024
Jannik Sinner Dominates Chris O’Connell to Advance at US Open, Keeping Upset Hopes at Bay
At the US Open, Jannik Sinner made sure there was no space for another stunning upset. Sinner, who was competing just hours after Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic were shocked in his separate matches, outplayed Chris O’Connell in straight sets, showcasing his superior play and solidifying his place as one of the top contenders for the men’s singles championship.
Less than 15 hours after Djokovic’s defeat and two days following Alcaraz’s loss, Sinner was unstoppable in every aspect of the game when he took the court.
It demonstrates how erratic this sport can be. Anytime you compromise in the end, whether it be mentally, physically, or in terms of tennis, it significantly affects the outcome, according to Sinner. “They both played amazing tennis against the opponents they lost against. And it takes place.
Not to Sinner, the top-ranked player who is now the overwhelming favorite to win the men’s title at Flushing Meadows. In less than two hours, he defeated O’Connell 6-1, 6-4, and 6-2, making it abundantly evident how things would play out at Arthur Ashe Stadium after winning the first five games and 21 of the first 29 points.
According to O’Connell, “I felt like he was on from the get-go.” To tell the truth, I felt a little lost. He was all over me in every shot, and I felt like I had to do something with it. He was holding me down.
Sinner was unstoppable in every aspect of the sport when he took the court less than 15 hours after Djokovic fell to Alexei Popyrin and two days after Alcaraz fell to Botic van de Zandschulp. Sinner hit fifteen aces while Serena Williams, the 23-time major champion, watched from an Ashe suite. He was never in danger of breaking. In the twelve service games O’Connell played, he won five. In the end, he made more than twice as many winners (46) as unintentional mistakes (22).
“Unquestionably the best tennis player I’ve ever played,” declared O’Connell, 30, in a statement.
Daniil Medvedev, the winner of the 2021 U.S. Open men’s singles championship, was the only other player remaining in the bracket and was expected to play at night.
Iga Swiatek, ranked first and the owner of five Grand Slam titles, defeated Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, ranked 25th, 6-4, 6-2, to go to the U.S. Open fourth round for the fourth consecutive year.
Jasmine Paolini made history earlier on Saturday by becoming the first woman to advance to the fourth round of every major tournament in 2024, joining Coco Gauff. She defeated No. 30 seed Yulia Putintseva 6-3, 6-4 to earn her first-ever trip to the U.S. Open.
The fifth-seeded Paolini, who finished second at the French Open in June and Wimbledon in July, will next play Karolina Muchova, the winner of the 2023 French Open. The No. 6 Jessica Pegula, No. 16 Liudmila Samsonova, No. 18 Diana Shnaider, and the winner of the 2018 Australian Open, Caroline Wozniacki, also advanced.
The 23-year-old Italian has performed flawlessly, dropping a total of 18 games over nine sets since losing the first set he played in New York against Mackie McDonald. That match was also Sinner’s first since news of a doping case that involved two positive tests in March for trace amounts of a banned anabolic steroid surfaced.
Sinner, who won his maiden Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open in January, will take on No. 14 Tommy Paul of the United States in the fourth round of the Australian Open on Monday in an attempt to win his second Grand Slam title of the year. Paul won 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1, 7-6 (3) over Gabriel Diallo, a Canadian qualifier.
“He moves really well. Over the past few months, he has significantly improved. Sinner expressed his anticipation for the challenging match against Paul, who placed semifinalist at the 2023 Australian Open. “He’s a really good tennis player, especially over here in America.”
Maybe Sinner was a little cautious going into Saturday, considering what had happened recently. After all, two of the top three seeded men have only lost before the fourth round once in the Open history (the other two occurrences occurred in 1973 and 2000).
Therefore, before the competition started, Sinner was seen as the favorite to win the U.S. Open, a title that belongs to No. 3 Alcaraz, the winner of this season’s French Open and Wimbledon. After Alcaraz was sent home on Thursday night, No. 2 Djokovic—the reigning champion and owner of a men’s record 24 major trophies—moved up in the rankings. However, he lost that position after making an early exit on Friday night.
Although O’Connell, ranked 87th, had never defeated a player in the top 10 or advanced past the third round of a Slam, he remained optimistic that he may pull off yet another upset.
O’Connell was inspired to create something akin to what van de Zandschulp and Popyrin produced in opposition to Sinner by their actions.
O’Connell remarked, “I mean, yeah, I’ve got to believe, but I just felt like he was really on fire.”
Trying to follow up a career-best victory with another is challenging, and van de Zandschulp didn’t exactly perform on Saturday, falling to No. 25 Jack Draper 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. The 22-year-old British left-hander Draper has never advanced past the fourth round of a major tournament; neither has his next opponent, unseeded Tomas Machac, who defeated David Goffin 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.
“It was a little crazy after the match (against Alcaraz),” van de Zandschulp remarked. “You attempt to focus on the upcoming game, but a lot of the game from the day before keeps coming to mind. Naturally, following the previous two days, it was difficult to play today.
