Australian Open: Sinner on court for an hour, then Gaston withdraws. Musetti, Sonego and Darderi also advance
Jannik leading two sets to nil against the Frenchman, who then had to leave due to a physical problem. After Arnaldi and Bellucci, Nardi and Cocciaretto were also out. In the second round derby between the two Lorenzo
Jannik Sinner's first round match at the Australian Open lasted little more than an hour: he was leading 6-2, 6-1 when Hugo Gaston decided to leave the court, tried by a physical problem that prevented him from serving effectively and accelerating his shots. In any case, the supremacy of the defending champion - who has lifted the trophy here in the last two years (in 2024 in the final with Medvedev, in 2025 with Zverev) - had been clear even in the first part of the match against the French number 93 in the ranking. His path to the second round will continue against Australian James Duckworth, who got the better of Croatian Dino Prižmić.
In the night, the other Italians played, starting with Lorenzo Musetti, number 5 in the Atp ranking, who overcame Raphael Collignon: the Carrarino was leading 2 sets to 1 when his opponent withdrew due to a problem with his right leg. And now, in the second round, an all-Italian derby awaits him with Lorenzo Sonego, who beat Carlos Taberner decisively (6-4, 6-0, 6-3 the score). Also ahead was Luciano Darderi, who defeated Cristian Garín (7-6, 7-5, 7-6), while Luca Nardi did not make it with Wu Yibing and Elisabetta Cocciaretto: she struggled but succumbed to the morning of Wednesday 21 against Poland's Magdalena Fręch (world number 57).
The Italian patrol had already lost - in addition to the unfortunate Cobolli, out in the first round also due to a stomach problem - Matteo Arnaldi and Mattia Bellucci, to whom a less than benevolent draw had reserved Andrej Rublev and Casper Ruud respectively. Finally, it is worth noting the nice surprise of Francesco Maestrelli, class of 2002, coming from the qualifications: he overcame in the fifth set, with character and supported by a super serve, Térence Atmane (who had made his mark in Cincinnati, where he had reached the semifinals, then defeated by Sin
ner). Now a certain Novak Djokovic awaits him: he is in his 21st Australian Open and swept the Spaniard Pedro Martínez in three sets.
