Sinner needs four sets to see off wildcard Schoolkate at Australian Open

Jannik Sinner escaped an early ambush from the local wildcard Tristan Schoolkate to book a place in the third round in his defence of the Australian Open, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-3 in 183 minutes on a captivated Rod Laver Arena. The result looked anything but certain after the 23-year-old West Australian, who tried and failed in qualification at Melbourne Park for five consecutive years, proved he belongs on the highest stage with an accomplished, high-energy first set against the world No 1.

At that stage close to 15,000 fans dared to imagine a remarkable upset. Yet Sinner – who was troubled by the conditions on a windy evening – elevated his play as the match wore on and in the end was comfortable in victory. “Every round here is very tough,” he said. “Everyone here in the first round, second round and third round deserves to be there. It was a very tough match, [but] I can improve.”

The Australian described the first hour as the best tennis of his career but said his performance subsequently dipped, if only slightly. “The reason he’s at the top of his game is that he could hold his level for longer in that match, he ran away with it a bit.”

Schoolkate, who has been grinding on the edges of the professional tour for years, has won at Flushing Meadows and Melbourne Park in the past six months, but when the match started there were plenty of empty seats, suggesting even the home fans had little belief in the underdog.

It would soon fill during a first set that had the defending champion scrambling. The barely believable break arrived at 5-4, when the Australian leaped to a 0-40 advantage and the first “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie” chant rung out. Sinner appeared rattled and had to reset his serve when he was distracted by the escalating noise.

It only got louder as the unheralded Australian won the point, and the set, celebrating by pumping his arms. It was a remarkable twist: the Italian did not drop a set in his run to the trophy last year until his semi-final, when Novak Djokovic won the third in a tie-break.

Slowly Sinner’s quality emerged and he finished with 40 winners as Schoolkate – despite showing a crafty all-round game – struggled to keep pace. He did not have a break point opportunity in the final three sets.

“The first set, he was serving big serves, amazing volleys and it was a tough match to get through. These matches, they can go fast away [from you], you never know what can happen exactly,” Sinner said. “I’m happy how I handled the situation.”

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The Italian is still far from the form that took him to two grand slam titles and the rankings summit in 2024. “My level we know we can improve, which is most important, and hopefully I can show this in the next round,” he said. He now looks forward to a match against the American Marcos Giron, after he beat Tomás Martin Etcheverry in five sets.

Schoolkate too, even in defeat, has reason for optimism. “It gives me a lot of belief that what I’m doing is working, and if I can keep working on my game and keep improving, hopefully I can take another set and maybe even a match off players like this.”

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