BEIJING.- World number one Jannik Sinner survived a scare against Chilean Nicolás Jarry on Wednesday to begin the defense of his title in the China Open with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory.
Sinner extended his winning streak to 12. The Italian arrived on the Asian tour preceded by his consecrations in Cincinnati and the United States Open, his second Grand Slam title this year. The European has a record of 76-6 in the last 52 weeks.
Jarry had won their previous match at the grass-court tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands, and the Chilean overwhelmed Sinner in the first set in Beijing with 11 winners.
“I had a hard time in the first set with his serve and he broke me,” Sinner said. “I tried to stay mentally in the game. The first round in any tournament is never easy and playing against him is difficult. But I’m happy with the performance and how I closed the game.”
Sinner was able to raise his level to level against Jarry, breaking his serve twice in a dominant third set. His next rival will be the winner of the duel between the Swiss Stan Wawrinka and the Russian Roman Safiullin.
South American triumphs
Also on Thursday, Colombian Camila Osorio recovered after losing the first set and won 1-6, 6-3, 6-3 against Australian Ajla Tomljanovic to draw her debut.
Osorio began the week as number 59 in the WTA ranking after reaching the semifinals of the Guadalajara Open. Her rival on duty in Beijing will be the American Amanda Anisimova.
In addition, Argentina’s Nadia Podoroska beat China’s Yufei Ren 6-4, 6-2.
Frenchman Adrian Mannarino also came back after losing the first set and beat Italian Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 for his 300th victory on the tour, 16 years after his first.
Carlos Alcaraz, third in the world ranking and second seed in Beijing, will debut on Friday against Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi (51st in the ranking).
