Jannik Sinner seemed at a loss on Wednesday, his birthday. © ANSA / EDUARDO LIMA
This is probably not how Jannik Sinner imagined his birthday. The South Tyrolean lost on Wednesday evening, at his first appearance at the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati (USA), against the Serb Dusan Lajovic and was promptly eliminated from the event.
16. August 2023
From: do
“Birthday is a normal day for me. I hope to play a match on Wednesday and win it. That would be the perfect gift.” That’s what the newly crowned Toronto winner and today’s birthday boy said after his first Masters 1000 triumph on Monday. Then Jannik Sinner went to Cincinnati, 700 kilometers away in the US state of Ohio, where the South Tyrolean’s wish to play on his birthday came true. But as the game progressed on Wednesday, it became clear that the South Tyrolean’s special day was becoming more and more of a bad dream. After 1.21 the shock was certain. Dusan Lajovic (ATP 66) defeated Sinner in the second round of the Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati 6: 4 and 7: 6 (4).
In the first set, the 22-year-old probably still had the tournament in Toronto in his legs. In any case, his performance on the pitch did not come close to that in the Canadian metropolis. But this was also due to his opponent, Dusan Lajovic, who was in top form in Cincinnati and knew an answer to any attempt by Sinner. The Serb was able to adapt to the strong baseline shots of the birthday boy, kept advancing into the field and took the serve from Sinner when the score was 3: 3, which was again a weakness of South Tyrol today. The first set went 6: 4 to the 33-year-old veteran.
The South Tyrolean never found his Toronto form. © APA / VAUGHN RIDLEY
A moment of awakening for the South Tyrolean, who became significantly stronger as a result. Already in Lajovic’s first service game there was a back and forth between advantage and debut, but the break shouldn’t be. But the Serb also got better and better and showed some spectacular winners, which the 22-year-old could only look at with a shrug. For example, when the score was 4: 4, Sinner had to resist several break balls with great effort. Lajovic rubbed Sinner’s nerves like a file. The South Tyrolean seemed nervous and frustrated, tended to short-circuit attack balls that often landed outside the field markings.
The Serb was the better player today. © Social Media
Nevertheless, Sinner made it into the tie-break, where both players completely failed to serve and the game specification became more of a disadvantage, since the most points were made by the one who took the ball. Only Lajovic managed a series of two successful serves in a row, with which the Serb positioned himself for the match point. He then used this after 1.21 hours. Sinner left the place with his head hanging. That was not the plan for the top-class tournament in Cincinnati, which is considered the most important preparatory tournament for the US Open.
Dusan Lajovic now meets local hero Taylor Fritz in the round of 16, who previously knocked Azzurro Lorenzo Sonego out of the tournament 6:4 and 7:6(1).
2023-08-16 19:22:05
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