Jannik Sinner’s biggest challenge on Tuesday night came in the first few minutes.
The two-time defending Australian Open champion found himself in unfamiliar territory, facing triple break point in the opening game against diminutive French lefty Hugo Gaston.
But Sinner needed to hit a groundstroke on just one of the next five points as he escaped trouble, never to be in danger again. In that sequence, there were three aces and an unreturned serve that Gaston could not keep in play, while the underdog fluffed a volley on the other point.
His new ball toss – lower, and closer to his body – paid rich dividends.
Sinner won the first-round match easily, leading 6-2, 6-1 after 68 minutes, before a dejected Gaston called it quits due to an injury. The Frenchman took tablets after the opening set, but it was a helpless cause.
“It’s not the way you want to win the match, but he’s such a talented player,” Sinner said.
“He has incredible touch and moves very well, so I knew from the beginning that I had to play very high-level tennis, and was trying to be as aggressive as possible, which I’ve done, so I’m very happy.
“I’m very happy to be back here. It’s a very special place for me.”
This was the Italian’s turn to make a statement after his chief rivals, world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, who sparkled the previous two nights while also progressing in straight sets.
On first impressions, 38-year-old Djokovic probably takes the points, but the fortnight is still young.
Sinner declared last year’s US Open final, which he lost to Alcaraz, as a turning point of sorts for him. He told everyone afterwards that he was “very predictable” in that final, and it was up to him to make changes.
One of the first was to Sinner’s serve, which was heralded as a key part of his ascension, but went under further reconstruction to try to find greater reliability and rhythm.
His first-serve percentage has consistently been high since, and his serve is rated as the tour’s best across several key metrics in the past year, ahead of French giant Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and American Taylor Fritz.
“I felt like the serve was, and still is, a shot where I need to improve. It’s the only shot we have where we can do
everything by ourselves,” Sinner said.
“There is a lot of room to improve. We changed a little bit the motion, the rhythm of the serve. Before, it was a bit too fast in the beginning. Now, it’s a bit slower. And the toss usually was a bit more in front, a bit on the right. Now, it’s a bit more back and over the head.
“At times, I still lose it. It’s not a shot where I feel very safe with, but at the same time, we are working on that. It is one of, if not the, most important shots we have because it can give you so many great things, so let’s see how I’m going to serve this season.”
Sinner has also discussed in the months since leaving New York how he wanted to introduce more variety into his game, in particular, the drop shot.
The process is not quite natural yet, as evidenced in the sixth game of the match when he made a late call to execute one – but it came off, much to his delight. Sinner immediately flashed a grin towards his support crew, with his Australian coach Darren Cahill the most amused of the lot.
Then, on set point, he attempted another, which looped high and landed in the middle of the service box, begging to be punished.
Gaston arrived easily in time, but Sinner guessed that he was going cross-court on his backhand, and with a flick of his wrists, he steered an on-the-run forehand into the open court to clinch the first set.
Alcaraz has also tinkered with his serve, which has been likened to Djokovic’s delivery – a narrative the 24-time grand slam champion has not missed.
“As soon as I saw it, I sent him a message,” Djokovic joked on Monday night.
“I said, ‘We have to speak about copyrights’. Then, when I saw him here, I told him we have to talk about percentage of his winnings. Every ace, I expect a tribute to me.”
There is an inevitability about the collision course Alcaraz and Sinner are on, but the Italian must first set his sights on Australia’s James Duckworth, who rallied to beat Croatian prospect Dino Prizmic 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3 in almost four-and-a-half hours on Tuesday.