Defending champion Jannik Sinner did not have things all his own way on his return to the China Open on Thursday, but he found a way to move past Nicolas Jarry and earn his 12th consecutive win.
The Italian was overpowered by the big-hitting Chilean in the first set. However, the top seed would not be denied, raising his consistency, intensity and level to record a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 first-round victory in Beijing.
“He played good tennis,” said Sinner, who is 56-5 on the season. “In the first set I was struggling to return his serve and he broke me. I just tried to stay there mentally. The first round at any tournament is never easy and playing against him is very tough. But I am happy about the performance and how I ended the match.”
Sinner committed 11 unforced errors and produced a number of stunning baseline passes to blunt the constant net approaches from Jarry, who upset then-World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz for the biggest win of his career in Buenos Aires in February.
“The first-serve was good, the second I have to improve a little,” said Sinner, who won 82 per cent (37/45) of his first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats. “He was returning aggressively, so it is not easy. From after US Open we tried to work very hard, change a few things but happy with my process.”
Last year, Sinner soared to the title at the ATP 500 event in Beijing. His run in the Chinese capital was a key major step in the 23-year-old becoming the first Italian No. 1 in the history of PIF ATP Rankings (since 1973).
Sinner has won a Tour-leading seven trophies, including majors at the Australian Open and US Open, since his title run in Beijing in 2023. Competing for the first time since he won the trophy in New York earlier this month, Sinner will next play lucky loser Roman Safiullin or former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka.
The top seed, who levelled his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Jarry at 1-1 following his one-hour, 55-minute win, qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals last month. The Italian will be hoping to go one step better at the prestigious year-end event in November, having lost in the title match to Novak Djokovic last season.
