Jannik Sinner goes past Alexei Popyrin, books R3 spot in New York

Top seed Jannik Sinner continued his rich form in the ongoing US Open, beating Australia’s Alexei Popyrin by 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in the second round at the Arthur Ashe Stadium on Thursday afternoon.  

Sinner was delighted with his game, though he felt both players didn’t serve that well in the contest. The Italian had a 55% first serve.

“It was a very, very solid performance,” said Sinner in his post-match press conference. “I felt like we both didn’t serve very well today, so we had a lot of rallies from the back of the court, where today I felt quite comfortable. Obviously, I’m very happy to be in the next round.”

Sinner will face Canada’s Denis Shapovalov in the third round.

On the other hand, Alexander Zverev defeated Jacob Fearnley 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to reach the third round. The German will next take on Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime in the third round. Zverev has a 6-2 H2H record against the Canadian.

“He’s somebody that when he plays well, he plays really well,” Zverev said of Auger-Aliassime. “When he doesn’t play well, he really doesn’t play well. He’s in the third round, that means he’s playing well. It’s a difficult match, but I think it’s a matchup that historically has fared me quite well. I hope it’s going to be the case in two days’ time.”

The German is happy with the level at which he is playing in the ongoing New York Major.

“I think my level has been good,” Zverev said. “It’s been decent. I know that opponents will get extremely difficult the further I get, and a lot of things will change, but I’m happy where my level is at after two matches.”