"Sometimes I’m a bit slow to hit the first shot" - Jannik Sinner shares on-court setback after commanding win over Marin Cilic

World number two Jannik Sinner started his China Open with a tricky opening tie against former US Open champion Marin Cilic, but proved to be too good for the Croatian as he clinically disposed Cilic 6-2, 6-2.

The match stayed on serve in the first four games, before Sinner turned up the quality to breeze towards a one-set advantage, clinching his second opportunity. The Italian carried this form into the second set, taking a 5-1 lead before failing to take two match points, as Cilic delayed the inevitable.

Surely enough, Sinner sealed the victory in the next game, saving a break point before confirming his place in the round of 16.

The four-time Grand Slam champion won on his debut in Beijing two years ago, defeating Daniil Medvedev to clinch his first ATP title in Asia. He came close to going back-to-back, but was pipped to the trophy in a thrilling final against Carlos Alcaraz, losing a third-set tiebreaker. He goes into the event as the overwhelming favourite, with his Spanish rival choosing to play in Tokyo at the Japan Open instead.

On today's performance, Sinner said: “I feel like today was a great performance,” said Sinner. Marin is a very tough player to play against, his peak is very high, so I managed to break him quite early in both sets, which gave me the confidence to keep going.”

Delving deeper into his game, Sinner revealed the positive changes he has made with his serve. It was a key weapon when he claimed his first Wimbledon title a few months ago, but it has recently let him down, most notably at Flushing Meadows when Alcaraz defeated him in the US Open final.

“I’m thinking a lot, especially with the serve at the moment,” he said. “Sometimes I’m a bit slow to hit the first shot, but I’m hoping that it’s getting as automatic as possible.”

“I always say 90% is trying to keep doing what I’m doing, and 10% is trying to mix it up, thinking a lot at the moment, but again, every player is doing this. I’m happy that I can work on things, I’m happy that I have a great team around me that understands this, so we keep pushing.”

The last time Sinner lost a first-round singles match occurred back in August 2023, over two years ago. This came against Serbian Dusan Lajovic in the Cincinnati Open. He has made 18 finals and won 12 ATP titles since then. When asked this, he said: “I don’t know, it’s a good question, obviously you try to put a lot of concentration, especially in the first round matches, because I know that many things can go wrong. After, you usually find your rhythm, your pace, the speed of the court, much better. I tried to prepare myself in the best possible way. I came here quite early, also, to feel the conditions.”

On Sky Sports, Naomi Brady shared her opinion after Cilic succumbed to defeat. “Tough one for Cilic, still played so well, but it almost doesn’t matter when you’re playing against Sinner, not in the form he’s found in the last couple of years. Still yet to find a win since his fourth-round run at Wimbledon," she said.

“It was one-way traffic, more winners than unforced errors from the Italian. Far too many unforced errors for Cilic, but you’re just forced into it, trying to find the space past Sinner, trying to somehow put him under pressure.

“Just solid across the board for the serving [for Sinner]. For Cilic, that was where his problems lay, so difficult when you’re not finding your best shot, missing the opportunity to put your opponent under pressure from the get-go. He had ten break point chances, Sinner, took four of them, and that was enough. Just an hour and 21 minutes, he’s through.”

After an impressive Wimbledon run from the 36-year-old, which included defeating Jack Draper on his way to the round-of-16, he has failed to win each of his previous six matches. He was knocked out of Wimbledon by Flavio Cobolli, before leaving the US Open in the first round. Before the defeat against Sinner, he failed to pick up any wins for his country in the Davis Cup, as Croatia lost to France.

Despite this, Broady was still impressed with his tennis. “Absolutely, why not when you’re hitting the ball like that? 36 years young!”