Jannik Sinner looked rejuvenated as he sailed into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open with an assured victory over fellow Italian, Luciano Darderi.
Defending champion, Sinner, said himself he was “lucky” to still be competing in Melbourne after he battled 0C heat and cramping in a testing third-round match.
Only coming off court and having the roof pulled over saved Sinner from a shock defeat by American world number 85 Eliot Spizzirri on Saturday.
But the second seed looked fresher against an injury-hampered Darderi as he surged through the opening two sets, dropping just four games.
There were still some signs of fatigue, as Sinner appeared to fade late in the third set when Darderi put up more resistance to force a tie-break.
But the four-time major winner managed to up his level to secure a 6-1 6-3 7-6 (7-2) win his 18th successive victory at Melbourne Park.
Sinner will face American eighth seed Ben Shelton or Norway’s 12th seed Casper Ruud in the last eight.
The 24-year-old is bidding to become just the second man after Novak Djokovic to win three successive Australian Open titles.
It took him just 27 minutes to wrap up the first set, having stormed ahead 5-0 before Darderi got on the board.
The 22nd seed, who seemed to struggle with a thigh injury, became increasingly frustrated in the second set and whacked a ball away as Sinner’s momentum continued to grow.
Having gone through the first and second set without a single break point, Darderi had four chances late in the third to strike a crucial blow to Sinner’s hopes of an early finish.
But Sinner fended them off and it was plain sailing through the tie-break for the defending champion, who finished with 19 aces and 46 winners.-BBC
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