Jannik Sinner resets after Miami rain delay to halt Griekspoor with strong serving display

Jannik Sinner had his work cut out for him for nearly two hours Sunday at the Miami Open, before taking control of his latest win.

The reigning Australian Open champion dug in to defeat Tallon Griekspoor, 5-7, 7-5, 6-1, in leading a trio of Italians through to another day of tennis. He upped his season record to 18-1.

Sinner patiently navigated his way through scattered missed opportunities that began with Griekspoor saving a trio of break points in the fourth game. The Dutchman didn’t see his first look on return until seven games later when he reached 15-40. After Sinner fired an ace, he netted forehand on the 11^th shot of a rally to drop serve.

Play was suspended due to rain at 3-3 in the second set. Later up 5-4, Sinner watched Griekspoor save a set point with a perfectly executed serve + 1 combination. The No. 25 seed however, couldn’t hold off the 22-year-old for much longer.

“Mentally I tried to stay really strong. I was in a tough situation today. After the rain, I tried to come back a little bit more aggressive,” Sinner told ATP Media.

On his first of two game points at 5-6, Griekspoor pushed a backhand long after trying to back up an out-wide serve with an outright winner. His second chance to reach a tiebreak was negated by a poor backhand approach shot right in Sinner’s strike zone, resulting in a backhand passing shot flying by into the open court.

From there, Sinner made his move. Eight of the final nine games went his way, closing out the encounter with a forehand drive volley winner. His first serve was effective throughout, winning 47 of 54 points by increasingly working the outside edges of the service boxes in improving to 3-0 in their head-to-head series.

Explained Sinner to Mike Cation about the strategy, “Just to open the court a bit more, trying to go in the other corner. You have to adapt yourself. Sometimes you don’t feel it so much, so then you go more to the T. It’s all part of where I need to be clear in my mind and very focused about what I’m doing.”

Countryman Matteo Arnaldi also advanced to the round of 16. The 23-year-old has now won all six sets he’s played this week, having eliminated Denis Shapovalov with a 6-3, 7-6 (7) victory. Arnaldi wiped away a set point at 6-7 in the second-set tiebreak.

In second-round action, Lorenzo Musetti lined up an intriguing battle with left-hander Ben Shelton. Musetti eased past Roman Safiullin, 7-5, 6-1, capitalizing on five of his seven break point chances. The 16th-seeded Shelton beat 18-year-old Martin Landaluce, 6-3, 6-4.