Australian Open: Sinner digs deep to down Rune

Jannik Sinner overcame injury to defeat Holger Rune and seal his progress at the Australian Open.

In his fifth career meeting with Rune, world number one Sinner prevailed 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-2 in the Melbourne heat to set up a quarter-final against either Alex Michelsen or home hope Alex de Minaur.

Sinner took the first set in just 35 minutes. However, Rune hit back in the second.

Having fended off two break points earlier in the set, Rune got the better of his opponent's serve to nose 5-3 ahead, restoring parity in the next game.

The third set was a titanic tussle that lasted an hour, with Sinner, who had to take an 11-minute medical timeout at one stage, saving four break points before claiming a decisive break of his own.

A long delay due to a net malfunction resulted in both players having to leave the court at the start of the fourth set, but when Sinner returned, he got the jump on Rune's serve again.

Sinner alternated between forehand and backhand winners to further pressurise Rune's serve, and though the Dane dragged himself back to deuce, the reigning champion's second break of the set duly arrived due to a sliced forehand long.

An elegant forehand down the line gave Rune hope, and his supporters at Rod Laver Arena something to cheer, but Sinner had too much, somehow scrambling to a drop shot before pulling off an instinctive volley at the net.

Rune overhit a scoop to hand Sinner match point, and the top seed grasped the win at the first time of asking.

15 - Jannik Sinner is the fourth player in the last 30 years to reach the quarter-finals for 15 consecutive Tour level tournaments (ATP Finals excluded) Roger Federer Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic Jannik Sinner SpecialGuest.#AO2025 | @AustralianOpen pic.twitter.com/PAi72TzxsU

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) January 20, 2025

Data Debrief: Sinner shooting for the stars

Sinner has now joined Carlos Alcaraz as the only players born in the 21st century to have reached 10 grand slam quarter-finals.

The Italian has reached the quarters at the last 15 ATP-level events he has competed in (excluding the ATP Finals, which only includes eight players), dating back to last year's Australian Open. The only other players to achieve that in the last 30 years have been Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

This was Sinner's 48th straight win on a hard court against an opponent ranked outside of the top 10. He is just the second player since the rankings were published in 1973 to go on such a run, after Federer.

Sinner has reeled off 18 successive match wins on the surface, becoming the youngest player to achieve the feat since John McEnroe in 1981.