World no. 8 Jannik Sinner made a winning start at the Barcelona Open, beating Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 40 minutes. The young Italian scored his 25th victory of the season, eager to continue where he left at the season’s opening three Masters 1000 events. Jannik had to work hard to beat the struggling Argentine, losing serve three times and delivering six breaks from 57% of the return points. Sinner fired 26 winners and 20 unforced errors, keeping the points on his racquet and reducing Schwartzman to modest seven direct points. Diego hit a double fault and experienced a break in the encounter’s first game. He forced Jannik’s mistake in the second game to seize the third break chance and level the score at 1-1. Sinner played well on the return in game five and grabbed a break at 15 to move in front.
Jannik Sinner defeated Diego Schwartzman in the Barcelona Open second round.
The Italian came from 30-0 down in the seventh game and cracked a forehand down the line winner for a break of serve and a 5-2 advantage. Schwartzman missed a break chance in game eight, and Sinner wrapped up the set 6-2 after the rival’s forehand mistake. Diego played a wild forehand at the start of the second set and faced two break points. Jannik clinched the first to grab an early lead and move closer to the finish line. Schwartzman broke back in game two before falling 2-1 behind following a volley error in the next one. Sinner held for 3-1, and Schwartzman claimed the fifth game to remain within one break deficit.
The Italian produced a hold at love in game six with a forehand down the line winner and missed a break chance in the next one that could have pushed him 5-2 up. Diego pushed hard on the return in the eighth game and broke back on the third opportunity after Jannik’s loose backhand. Instead of building on that, the Argentine squandered game points at 4-4 and lost serve after a costly forehand error. The young gun served for the victory in game ten and created three match points with a volley winner at the net. Sinner converted the second with a forehand winner to emerge at the top in style and set the third-round clash with Yoshihito Nishioka.