Sinner earns 50th win of the season, reaches US Open third round

Jannik Sinner captured his 50th win of the season and a Tour-leading 30th victory on hard courts Thursday at the US Open, where he brushed past #NextGenATP American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-0, 6-2.

The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has enjoyed a standout 2024, winning five titles including his first major at the Australian Open. The 23-year-old Italian hit freely and forced errors from Michelsen with his weight and depth of shot to earn his second victory this month against the 20-year-old.

Sinner, who beat Michelsen in their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting en route to the title in Cincinnati, is into the third round at the US Open for the fourth consecutive year and will next meet Christopher O’Connell.

"I am very happy to get through, he is a very tough opponent," Sinner said. "We had a match in Cincinnati one week ago, so I knew a little what to expect."

Pure SINNER-MA ?

World No. 1 @janniksin notches his 50th win of the season with a scintillating 6-4 6-0 6-2 demolition job over Michelsen! @usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/kEEpyCCSs4

Sinner started relatively slowly against Michelsen, dropping serve in his first game. However, he hit with more intensity from the baseline in the closing stages of the opener, gaining the decisive break of the first set in the ninth game. From there, the Italian capitalised on Michelsen’s lack of depth to overpower the American, who committed 31 unforced errors, to seal victory after one hour and 40 minutes.

Sinner’s best result in New York came in 2022 when he lost in a five-set, five-hour quarter-final epic against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

"I always love New York, the first Grand Slam I played in the main draw, so I have great memories and I always enjoy playing here," Sinner added.

Earlier this month, Sinner became the first player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. The Italian is now eyeing ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours, with Alcaraz his closest challenger. Sinner is currently 1,090 points ahead of the Spaniard in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, which is a good measuring stick for the year-end No. 1 battle.

2024 Win Leaders

Michelsen leaves New York at No. 47 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings and second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. The American, who has reached two tour-level finals in 2024, is aiming to make his second appearance at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Earlier, Czech Tomas Machac upset 16th seed Sebastian Korda 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the third round at the hard-court major for the first time. Italian Matteo Arnaldi also advanced, dispatching Roman Safiullin 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 to continue his impressive year.

World No. 30 Arnaldi next plays Jordan Thompson after the Australian upset seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(2), 6-1, 7-5. Machac takes on David Goffin or Adrian Mannarino.

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