Indian Wells: Sinner, Zverev Advance, Fucsovics Stuns Musetti In Opener

Indian Wells: Sinner, Zverev advance, Fucsovics stuns Musetti in opener (Image Source: IANS)

Italian Matteo Berrettini: World No. 2 Jannik Sinner began his bid for a maiden title at the Indian Wells with a commanding performance in the opener, sweeping aside Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina 6-1, 6-1 in just over an hour.

Returning to the California tournament after missing last year’s edition due to a drug suspension, the Italian controlled proceedings from start to finish in a 64-minute encounter in which he faced only a single break point.

After Svrcina held serve to level the opening set at 1-1, Sinner took complete control, reeling off nine straight games to leave the qualifier struggling to keep pace. Svrcina briefly halted the run with another hold, but the Italian soon closed out the match.

The Czech showed resilience in the final game, saving three match points and forcing Sinner to serve it out before the second seed eventually sealed the victory with a decisive break. The emphatic win offers an encouraging start for Sinner, whose previous campaigns at the tournament ended at the semifinal stage, both times against Carlos Alcaraz.

This year’s draw means Sinner would not meet either top seed Alcaraz or third seed Novak Djokovic before the final. “I feel mentally I’m in a good place," said Sinner, who earlier this year lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals and was defeated by Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals at the Qatar Open last month. “I’m calm, I’m relaxed. But I’m also very happy to compete. We’ve done a lot of work. Many, many hours on court. Many hours in the gym. I’m trying to get a little bit stronger."

Sinner’s best results at Indian Wells came with semifinal appearances in 2023 and 2024. A title run this year would allow the 24-year-old to complete the set of trophies at all six hard-court ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. Against Svrcina, Sinner dictated play from the baseline, forcing the Czech deep behind the court and opening up chances to approach the net.

This year’s draw means Sinner would not meet either top seed Alcaraz or third seed Novak Djokovic before the final. “I feel mentally I’m in a good place," said Sinner, who earlier this year lost to Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals and was defeated by Jakub Mensik in the quarterfinals at the Qatar Open last month. “I’m calm, I’m relaxed. But I’m also very happy to compete. We’ve done a lot of work. Many, many hours on court. Many hours in the gym. I’m trying to get a little bit stronger."

“I have struggled in Indian Wells before, but I feel different this year," Zverev remarked. The day’s biggest surprise came when Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics produced a dominant performance to defeat fifth seed Lorenzo Musetti 7-5, 6-1. For Musetti, the defeat added to a difficult run following his recent setback at the Australian Open, where the Italian was forced to retire due to a right leg injury while leading Djokovic by two sets in their quarterfinal clash.

Article Source: IANS