(Melbourne) World No.4 Jannik Sinner, who came to Melbourne without having played a preparatory tournament, had a solid entry into the Australian Open by overcoming the Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp (59th) in three sets 6-4 , 7-5, 6-3 in the first round on Sunday.

Sinner (22), one of the main outsiders of the Australian Grand Slam, was the first to step onto the Rod Laver Arena in this 2024 edition.

A break at the start of the match, another at the end of the second set, and four games scored in a row after being led 2-0 in the third set allowed the young Italian to seriously win in just over two hours and a half.

“It was my first match of the season, I feel good physically, I’m in good shape. It’s a tournament where I would like to play as well as possible,” he said.

Sinner is the only player to have beaten world No.1 Novak Djokovic after Wimbledon and until the end of the 2023 season. Even twice, at the Masters (in the group stage) and in the Davis Cup.

He will face Argentinian Pedro Cachin or Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong in the second round.