Jannik Sinner has just reached the quarterfinals of Indian Wells and in the process has surpassed legendary figure Novak Djokovic.
Sinner played out a thrilling battle with Joao Fonseca in the round of 16 in California, eventually winning 7-6(8-6), 7-6(7-4).
They battled it out for just over two hours, with the Italian earning himself an Indian Wells quarterfinal clash with American youngster Learner Tien.
Sinner is chasing a maiden title at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, at which he should be full of confidence after overtaking a fantastic Djokovic record.
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Jannik Sinner overtakes Novak Djokovic’s Sunshine Double win rate
As per OptaAce, Sinner now holds the best combined win rate of any player at Indian Wells and the Miami Open.
That is since the ATP Masters 1000 format’s introduction in 1990, and includes players with a minimum of 10 matches played.
Sinner has just taken his total to 84.6%, ahead of the 84.3% of Djokovic, who takes on Jack Draper in a bid to join the Italian in the Indian Wells quarterfinals.
The Miami Open immediately follows Indian Wells in the ATP calendar, and is a tournament that Sinner has won before, having thus far failed to clinch the title in California.
In stark contrast, Djokovic has secured the Sunshine Double before, winning Indian Wells and the Miami Open in the same season a record four times.
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Jannik Sinner vs Learner Tien H2H before Indian Wells clash
Sinner will be on a high after passing a very tricky test against Brazilian ace Fonseca for more reasons than one.
Fonseca praised Sinner ahead of their match, during which he impressively pushed the four-time Grand Slam champion time and again, with his efforts including a 120mph forehand.
But the Italian used all of his experience to grind out a very hard-fought win, emerging victorious in their first-ever ATP meeting.
It is now a slightly different story against Tien, who Sinner has met once before, intriguingly in last year’s Beijing final.
And unlike his lengthy run-in with Fonseca, it was a relatively straightforward victory for the Italian, who lifted the trophy after winning 6-2, 6-2.
Both Tien and Fonseca are fittingly former Next Gen ATP Finals champions, securing the title in 2025 and 2024 respectively, while Sinner is also on the list thanks to his 2019 success.
The American should have the advantage of home support in the quarterfinals, with his confidence also certain to be high after knocking out the likes of Ben Shelton and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
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