Sinner saves 8 break points to beat Michelsen in Cincinnati

Jannik Sinner bounced back from a hip-injury scare and a quarter-final exit in Montreal with a battling opening win Wednesday at the Cincinnati Open. The Italian saved all eight break points against him in a 6-4, 7-5 victory against #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen on centre court.

Sinner improved to 25-2 on hard courts this season and will next meet Sebastian Baez or Jordan Thompson for a place in the quarter-finals. Sinner has reached that stage at all five previous ATP Masters 1000s he has played this season, but he has never advanced to the quarters in Cincinnati.

"It was a tough match. He played already some matches but for me it was the first match here, so I tried to feel the conditions a but more," he said post-match. "I'm very happy to be in the next round. For me this is a place where I used to struggle a lot in the past years, so let's see what I can do this time.

"I'm trying to stay in a positive mindset, positive moment, and I think that today also brought me the win."

OUTRAGEOUS on the stretch! 💯@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis | @janniksin pic.twitter.com/LBbw3et2Q4

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 14, 2024

The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings saved three break points in the opening set and five in the second, according to Infosys ATP Stats. He broke in his first and last return game of the match and wrapped up the win with an emphatic service hold.

In the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, the 19-year-old Michelsen was bidding for his second Top 10 win after beating Alex de Minaur earlier this season in Los Cabos. The American took the match to Sinner at times and was vocal as he wriggled out of two tight service games late in set two. But after Sinner forced deuce for the third straight time on the Michelsen serve, the pressure yielded the decisive break.

While Sinner said he is still working his way toward full fitness, he was pleased to ensure he will have at least one more outing to improve in that regard. 

"For sure not 100 per cent yet [physically], but I'm trying to get used to these kind of conditions," he said.