By Shrivathsa Sridhar
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Defending U.S. Open champion Jannik Sinner effortlessly took out Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-3 6-2 6-2 to make the third round of the Grand Slam on Thursday and send out an ominous warning to his title rivals in New York.
The metronomic world number one, looking to become the first man to retain the trophy at Flushing Meadows since Roger Federer won the last of his five crowns in 2008, was expected to face a tricky test against a tenacious opponent.
But Popyrin,
who arrived at Arthur Ashe Stadium hoping to knock out the holder for a second successive year after toppling Novak Djokovic 12 months ago, landed in a world of trouble early on when Sinner forged a 4-1 lead with a reflexive return.
Sinner wrapped up the opening set on serve and then had the bandages on his right foot trimmed by a physio during the break, before the 24-year-old promptly resumed his mission to scythe down his 36th-ranked opponent in the second set.
The top seed forced an error from Popyrin's racket for an early break and although he faced some resistance while serving in the sixth game, comfortably took the second frame by trading his powerful hitting for a soft drop at the net on set point.
Popyrin's win over Sinner in their only previous meeting at the 2021 Madrid Open began to look increasingly irrelevant when he fell behind in the third, before his opponent put him out of his misery with a thunderous ace.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in New York, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
