Sinner survives a set point against and hip pain in Madrid | ATP Tour

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Sinner survives a set point against and hip pain in Madrid

The Italian will face Khachanov on Tuesday

April 29, 2024

Jannik Sinner has won three titles in 2024.
By ATPTour.com/es Staff

Jannik Sinner battled a hip injury and a modest serve performance on Monday to fight his way into the fourth round of the Mutua Madrid Open.

Playing against World No. 72 Pavel Kotov, Sinner stretched his hip several times during the match and appeared uncomfortable during his 6-2, 7-5 victory. Additionally, he saved a set point before breaking at 4-5 in the second set to avoid a decider.

“I’ve been struggling a little bit with my right hip,” Sinner said during his on-court interview. “We are trying to find a solution and I don’t think it is anything serious. “Sometimes it feels more like today and some days are a little better.”

“I have a good team behind me and we will try to prepare my body for tomorrow and tomorrow we will decide what is best for me and my body.”

Sinner claimed four consecutive breaks of serve to take the first set despite dropping his own serve twice in a row early in the set. Although he lost a service game early in the second, Sinner improved his first serve percentage from 64 percent to 74 percent between sets, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I have played two games with the roof closed and the sensations with the ball were better than in the first game. It was still a very complicated match,” Sinner said of his first Lexus ATP Head2Head matchup against the 25-year-old Kotov.

Sinner will next face 16th seed Karen Khachanov, who defeated 21-year-old Italian Flavio Cobolli 7-5, 6-4. Khachanov has lost his last three matches against Sinner, including the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open, but they have never met on clay.

“Jannik is in his best form at the moment and has only lost a couple of matches since the end of last year. But there is nothing to fear. I just need to prepare and find a good game plan and the weapons I need to beat him.”