Australian Open: Jannik Sinner crushes Kyle Edmund comeback

Australian Open
Delight for Jannik Sinner

Kyle Edmund’s hopes of a comeback run at the Australian Open were put to the sword by Jannik Sinner.

The Italian No 15 seed galloped to a 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 statement victory to start his Grand Slam campaign in some style.

Edmund, who has struggled with injuries recently, was no match for Sinner at all.

Sinner was understandably pleased with his efforts, but the match had the air of a warm-up.

“I think I played very solid today,” Sinner said in his post-match interview in John Cain Arena. “I had some difficult times to finish it off, but I think my level was very good today.”

Sinner enjoyed a consistent 2022 when it comes to the Grand Slams, reaching the last eight in Melbourne, Wimbledon and the US Open and the Round of 16 at Roland Garros.

Edmund offered some resistance in the 50-minute opening set but Sinner found another gear in the second and it was all downhill from there for the Brit.

Edmund managed to earn six break points but only cashed in on one of them while Sinner took a pair of breaks off of him in the first stanza.

Sinner enjoys the conditions in Melbourne, which he feels offers a slightly slower surface than traditional hard courts.

“I like the conditions,” he said of the Melbourne hard courts. “Obviously when you play in stadiums, for me it’s a little bit easier, the court is a little bit slower. When you make a quarter-final in any Slam, it means that you like the conditions. So I’m very happy to be back here.”

Sinner will face Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Gregoire Barrere in the second round.

The World No 16 is seeded to meet countryman Lorenzo Musetti in the third round and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Round of 16, meaning he could be made to overcome some major obstacles to match his 2022 return at the Australian Open.

Edmund, whose best Grand Slam result came in Melbourne in 2018, missed the last two editions of the Australian Open as knee injuries wrought havoc on his career.

In other early Australian Open results, Denis Shapovalov survived a minor scare to claim a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 win against Dusan Lajovic on Monday.

The seeds held sway in the early going with 29th seed Sebastian Korda, 31st seed Yoshihito Nishioka and 32nd seed Botic van de Zandschulp all securing their places in the second round.

READ MORE: ‘Devastated’ Nick Kyrgios withdraws from the Australian Open – ‘It’s been pretty brutal’

Jannik Sinner Kyle Edmund

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