Australian Open defending champion Jannik Sinner bids for a ninth consecutive victory at the event when he takes on home wild card Tristan Schoolkate in Thursday's second-round match.
Defeating Nicolas Jarry in the first match of his title defence Down Under saw the top seed notch his 15th successive triumph on hard courts at the Majors, and he bids for a 16th against an opponent whose only wins at such events have come against Taro Daniel.
Match preview
© Imago
Sinner might have secured a straight-sets victory on Monday afternoon to begin his title defence without dropping a set, but defeating Jarry was far from straightforward.
Although the Italian was backed for success in four sets, continuing the pattern of the Chilean player taking a set off the leading player on the men's tour, the world No. 1 gave little away on serve — saving both break point opportunities his opponent created — and took advantage on the world No. 36's deliveries to convert twice from five break points.
After going over two hours without a break of serve, the second-set tie-break seemed to knock the stuffing out of Jarry, as evidenced by a meeker third set; that victory means Sinner becomes the fourth men's player since 2000 to secure 15 hard-court triumphs at Grand Slams, emulating Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic.
Barring any unexpected disappointment against his Australian opponent, the 23-year-old should notch his 16th straight success on the surface.
There might have been questions about Sinner, considering he is in the uncharted position of never having defended a Grand Slam title before; however, despite having had no competitive action before his tournament-opening success, Monday's victory suggests the top seed will not relinquish his stranglehold easily.
© Imago
Not one to let standards slip regardless of the opponent, the defending champion's baseline performance will provide a stern baptism of fire for a player making his debut Down Under and featuring in only his third-ever match at a Major.
Uniquely, Schoolkate's two victories at Slams have come against Daniel, whom he defeated in four sets on home turf, having roared back from two sets down to beat the Japanese player at Flushing Meadows.
Monday's success also witnessed another comeback, though from a set down this time, as the 23-year-old recovered from losing the opening set tie-break to clinch the second shoot-out before claiming sets three and four to record a 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 6-1 6-4 victory.
The world No. 173 might have fired a staggering 23 aces past Daniel in round one, but he was a beneficiary of his opponent converting only twice from 10 break-point opportunities.
Sinner is not expected to be as profligate in such situations against an opponent who landed just 54% of his first serves in round one and won 56% of points on his second deliveries, which does not bode well unless Schoolkate executes at a higher standard.
Tournament so far
Jannik Sinner:
First round: vs. Nicolas Jarry 7-6[2] 7-6[5] 6-1
Tristan Schoolkate:
First round: vs. Taro Daniel 6-7[6] 7-6[4] 6-1 6-4
Head To Head
The imminent second-round encounter marks the first meeting between Sinner and Schoolkate, with the Aussie Open defending champion entering the match as the clear favourite.
However, it will be intriguing to see if the home player, making his debut Down Under, can challenge the top seed in his first encounter against a top-10 opponent.
We say: Sinner to win in three sets
Although Schoolkate is expected to have the home support in his corner against Sinner, the wild card should be powerless to resist a 16th hard-court success at the Majors for the defending champion, who should set up a third-round encounter with Marcos Giron or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
