By Nick Mulvenney
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Defending champion Jannik Sinner had his feathers ruffled early on by local wildcard Tristan Schoolkate on Thursday before recovering his ice-cool composure to reach the third round of the Australian Open with a 4-6 6-4 6-1 6-3 win.
World number one Sinner had won 30 of his last 31 matches going into the contest and had not given up a set in 15 matches since his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing last October.
Western Australian Schoolkate ended the latter streak inside 47 minutes by converting the only break point of the opening stanza to the delight of a big crowd basking in the evening sun on Rod Laver Arena.
The Italian continued to struggle to get a handle on Schoolkate’s game early in the second set but a rasping crosscourt winner earned him a break for 4-3 and from then on the match was only going one way.
“It’s always tough to play against a player I have never played before, he was playing really good at the start, serving really well,” said top seed Sinner.
“I have to be very pleased with my performance, never take anything for granted, and I’m really happy to be in the next round. I can improve, yes, but I’ll take it.”
Next up for Sinner as he looks to build on his hardcourt Grand Slam titles in Melbourne and New York last year is American world number 46 Marcos Giron.
Sinner might be a little concerned at his unusually high tally of 29 unforced errors but world number 173 Schoolkate should take some credit for the pressure he was able to put on his fellow 23-year-old.
The Australian’s top serve speed of 210 kph outpaced the best Sinner was able to summon up and he was always a threat with his forays into serve-volley.
The key to Grand Slam tennis is being able to produce your best consistently over the match, however, and by the end of the two hours and 46 minutes contest, Schoolkate was only able to produce brief glimpses of his earlier high level.
Sinner, meanwhile, continued to bang down the accurate serves and clean winners from both wings until his 20th straight win over Australian opposition was assured, sealing the deal with a huge forehand for his 42nd winner.
(Reporting by Nick Mlvenney, editing by Ken Ferris)
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