Jannik Sinner advances to last 16 of Rotterdam Open with win over Botic van de Zandschulp, Holger Rune scrapes through

ByOli Gent

Published 14/02/2024 at 23:37 GMT

Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner made it 23 wins from 25 matches with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Botic van de Zandschulp in Rotterdam. The Italian came through 6-3 6-3 against the big-serving home favourite. Sinner could move to world No. 3 should he win in the Netherlands. Elsewhere, Holger Rune needed three sets to beat Roman Safiullin 6-4 2-6 6-1.

Jannik Sinner continued his fine form since with a straight-sets victory over Botic van de Zandschulp in Rotterdam.

The Italian came through 6-3 6-3 to advance into the last 16, beating the home favourite in front of a partisan Dutch crowd.

Van de Zandschulp crashed down three aces in the opening game of the match, but Sinner responded strongly to break the world No. 66’s serve twice in the first set.

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In the second, the Italian evaded a dicey 0-40 situation in the first game of the second, breaking in the following game to sail to victory.

"I've been working a lot in Monaco but I wanted to come here and feel the court. I'm happy to get my first win here over a really great player,” Sinner said afterwards.

"It's a little bit different [playing as a Grand Slam champion] and you have to be prepared for your opponents to know you better and know your weaknesses more, so you have to be prepared to work hard and be ready.”

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Sinner, currently ranked world No. 4, could rise to third in the rankings, above Daniil Medvedev, should he claim a 12th ATP title in the Netherlands.

Sinner extends his unbeaten streak this year to 11 matches, and will face a veteran of the game on his own 11-game winning run - Gael Monfils - in the second round.

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Elsewhere, Holger Rune squeaked through, beating Roman Safiullin in three sets - 6-4 2-6 6-1.

The Dane, who recently split from his head coach Boris Becker, hit 31 winners and nine aces in his hard-fought victory, but dropped off significantly in the second set, before re-finding his focus in the decider.

The 20-year-old saved five break points at 1-1 in the third, spurring him on to a four-game unanswered streak that ultimately edged the contest in his favour.

“I was for sure in trouble [when I was four break points down],” said Rune.

“I wasn’t really playing great at that moment of the match, so I just told myself, ‘Okay, let’s dig in, just keep digging deep. The longer the match goes, the more time I have to find my level’.

“That happened. I got that game, got some momentum after that one and then started playing really well from 2-1 in the third set.”

Rune will play Alexander Shevchenko in the next round.

Grigor Dimitrov, the sixth seed, beat Lorenzo Sonego 7-6(4) 6-3, while Milos Raonic shocked eighth seed Alexander Bublik 6-4 6-4.

Alex de Minaur, the fifth seed in Rotterdam, overcame David Goffin 6-3 6-1.

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