Jannik Sinner of Italy shakes hands in the Men’s Singles Second Round match against Tristan Schoolkate of Australia during day five of the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 16, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Getty Images)
New Delhi: Top seed Jannik Sinner rallied from a set down to defeat home favourite Tristan Schooltake in the second round of the Australian Open 2025. The defending champion overcame a slow start to defeat the Aussie wildcard 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 to progress to the third round.
The little-known Aussie Schoolkate sent the Rod Laver Arena crowd into delirium after taking the first set in the biggest clash of his career.
Sinner, the world number one Italian, entered the second-round match as a strong favourite but was frustrated by the spirited Aussie, who played some superb ground strokes including high-quality drop shots. The strong wind swirling around the court added to the Italian’s frustration.
Schoolkate took advantage of the situation and toughed out a long hold before breaking to love to claim the opening set 6-4 and inflicting a rare set loss on Sinner. The Italian star had not lost a single set since October 2 last year.
Upset Brewing? 👀
Tristan Schoolkate takes a 6-4 lead over World No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Rod Laver #AusOpen
pic.twitter.com/LzPT5LG5My
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) January 16, 2025
However, Sinner showed his class and recovered quickly to assert his supremacy in the contest. After a stunning display in the first set, Schooltake was unable to maintain his level as Sinner ultimately cruised to a two-hour, 46-minute victory.
“It’s always tough to play against a player I don’t know very well,” Sinner told John McEnroe after the match.
The 23-year-old Italian stretched his lead to 14-0 against opponents competing at their home major.
Sinner set up a fourth-round meeting with American Marcos Giron, whom he beat in straight sets in their only previous tour-level meeting in Shanghai last year.
Earlier, 13th-seed Holger Rune beat Italian Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6), fighting back from 2-5 down in the tiebreak of the fourth set. Meanwhile, Brazil’s 18-year-old Joao Fonseca, who stunned 9th seed Andrey Rublev in the opening round, once again produced a sensational performance but lost a thrilling five-setter against Lorenzo Sonego.
Fonseca’s adventurous campaign ended after fighting for a total of 3 hours and 37 minutes against Fonseca, losing the match 7-6 (6), 3-6, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6 on Thursday.
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