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11.46pm on Jan 20, 2026
‘It’s not the way you want to win’: Sinner on his opening-round walkover Jannik Sinner’s biggest challenge on Tuesday night came in the first few minutes.
The two-time defending Australian Open champion found himself in unfamiliar territory, facing triple break point in the opening game against diminutive French lefty Hugo Gaston.
Jannik Sinner advanced to the second round when Hugo Gaston retired after the second set. Credit: Chris Hopkins
But Sinner needed to hit a groundstroke on just one of the next five points as he escaped trouble, never to be in danger again. In that sequence, there were three aces and an unreturned serve that Gaston could not keep in play, while the underdog fluffed a volley on the other point.
His new ball toss – lower, and closer to his body – paid rich dividends.
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Sinner won the first-round match easily, leading 6-2, 6-1 after 68 minutes, before a dejected Gaston called it quits due to an injury. The Frenchman took tablets after the opening set, but it was a helpless cause.
“It’s not the way you want to win the match, but he’s such a talented player,” Sinner said.
“He has incredible touch and moves very well, so I knew from the beginning that I had to play very high-level tennis, and was trying to be as aggressive as possible, which I’ve done, so I’m very happy.
“I’m very happy to be back here. It’s a very special place for me.”
This was the Italian’s turn to make a statement after his chief rivals, world No.1 Carlos Alcaraz and 10-time champion Novak Djokovic, who sparkled the previous two nights while also progressing in straight sets.
On first impressions, 38-year-old Djokovic probably takes the points, but the fortnight is still young.
Sinner has tweaked his service technique. Credit: Getty Images
Sinner declared last year’s US Open final, which he lost to Alcaraz, as a turning point of sorts for him. He told everyone afterwards that he was “very predictable” in that final, and it was up to him to make changes.
One of the first was to Sinner’s serve, which was heralded as a key part of his ascension, but went under further reconstruction to try to find greater reliability and rhythm.
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His first-serve percentage has consistently been high since, and his serve is rated as the tour’s best across several key metrics in the past year, ahead of French giant Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and American Taylor Fritz.
“I felt like the serve was, and still is, a shot where I need to improve. It’s the only shot we have where we can do
everything by ourselves,” Sinner said.
“There is a lot of room to improve. We changed a little bit the motion, the rhythm of the serve. Before, it was a bit too fast in the beginning. Now, it’s a bit slower. And the toss usually was a bit more in front, a bit on the right. Now, it’s a bit more back and over the head.
“At times, I still lose it. It’s not a shot where I feel very safe w
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