In Miami you suffer, but Jannik Sinner always knows how to get ahead.
The Italian tennis player advances to the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Florida: in a somewhat complicated match and after a start not like Sinner, the South Tyrolean overcame the Australian Christopher O'Connell (n.66) in two sets with the score by 6-4 6-3.
A difficult start, however, for Sinner, who conceded a lot in the very early stages, with the Australian ahead 4-2 and the Italian forced to chase: with the usual forehand, however, the counter-break arrives which is worth 4-4, then thanks to the opponent's errors, the set ends in Jannik's favor.
The start of the second was entirely in the hands of Sinner who took the lead to 2-0, before the match was interrupted due to the illness of a spectator in the stands: as has already happened on other occasions (the latest at the ATP Finals in Turin), it is Sinner himself who points out what happened, stops the game and runs to the rescue with water and a towel amidst the applause of the spectators.
Then Sinner does Sinner, wins games to zero in a burst, gets a match point canceled out at 5-2: the Australian takes the lead at 5-3, but on the second match ball on his serve the blue takes the match and the quarters.
Where, however, there will be no derby with Matteo Arnaldi: a bad day in Miami for the Ligurian tennis player, n.38 in the world.
In fact, the Italian lost in two sets with a double 6-3 - in his first round of 16 final in a Masters 1000 - against the Czech Tomas Machac (n.60) who will thus be Sinner's next opponent in the quarterfinals.
A performance far from the standards shown by Arnaldi in recent months.
Imprecise, unable to reverse course, the blue had to give up after a clear run in which he hadn't lost a single set.
The first break point for the Czech is the one that allows him to extend his score, the second arrives at the end of the first set and coincides with the point that gives Machac the first set.
The reaction does not arrive in the second set.
After less than eighty minutes of play the Czech toasts to success, qualifying for the first quarter-final in a Masters1000 of his career.
In front of him he will have a Sinner who is also leaving his mark in Miami, not only on the pitch.
The Italian champion met for a few exchanges, also sitting in a wheelchair, Alfie Hewett, a legend of wheelchair tennis, present for the first time with a tournament at the Hard Rock Stadium on the occasion of the Miami Open.
Sinner wanted to try to exchange a few balls with Hewitt to understand the difficulty and effort of playing tennis while sitting.
In the quarterfinals in Miami, reached for the fourth time in his career, the unprecedented challenge with Machac now awaits him.
And also Carlos Alcaraz beat Lorenzo Musetti, reaching the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 in Miami.
Two sets were enough for the Spaniard number two in the world, won 6-3, 6-3.
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