Top-ranked Jannik Sinner fought through a tough match against Nicolas Jarry to kick off his title defense at the China Open with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory on Thursday.
The Italian has now won 12 matches in a row after securing titles at Cincinnati and the U.S. Open, marking his second Grand Slam title this year. Sinner’s record in the last 52 weeks is 76-6.
Jarry had won their only previous meeting on grass in 2019 at ’s-Hertogenbosch, and he started strong in Beijing, hitting 11 winners in the first set to overpower Sinner.
“In the first set I was struggling to return his serve and he broke me,” Sinner said. “I just tried to stay there mentally. The first round at any tournament is never easy and playing against him is very tough. But I am happy about the performance and how I ended the match.”
Sinner raised his level to win the next set and broke Jarry twice in a commanding third set. He will next face either wild card Stan Wawrinka or lucky loser Roman Safiullin.
Adrian Mannarino also came back from a set down to defeat Lorenzo Sonego 1-6, 6-2, 6-3, marking his 300th win on tour, 16 years after his first.
No. 3-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who is seeded second in Beijing, will play against No. 51 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard from France on Friday.
In the women’s draw, first-round winners included Kamilla Rakhimova, Croatian qualifier Jana Fett, Camilla Osorio, Elisabetta Cocciaretto, and Nadia Podoroska.
The 32 seeded players received first-round byes, including U.S. Open champion and top seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek is not competing this week due to personal reasons.
