Jannik Sinner news: Butterflies a good luck charm for Italian as he dumps out Alex de Minaur

Australian Open
Victory for Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open

The butterflies provided Jannik Sinner plenty of good fortune on Monday as he brushed aside Alex de Minaur to reach the Australian Open quarter-final.

Sinner had too much in his locker for the Australian as he overcame a tough opening set before easing to a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-4 win in two hours and 35 minutes.

The Italian saved four break points in the opening set and De Minaur one before Sinner claimed the lead via the tie-breaker. However, he upped his game after that as he broke early in the second set before racing into a 4-1 lead in the third.

The 11th seed, who will be playing in the quarter-final of the Grand Slam for a second time after reaching the last eight at Roland Garros in 2021, was pleased with his performance.

Sinner was the anointed by a butterfly during the match and again during the post-match court interview.

“In the beginning, I was serving well. He had more chances than me in the first set and after that, I tried to push a little bit more,” he said.

“I have gained a lot of experience in the last couple of months and I think I have grown as a player and a person.”

The Italian will face either fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece or Taylor Fritz from the United States for a place in the semi-final.

Alex De Minaur Jannik Sinner

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