Sinner adapts to indoor grass in Halle

Jannik Sinner got a crash course on indoor grass as he beat fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday to move into the ATP Halle quarter-finals.

The fourth seed spent nearly three hours on court as weather intervened at the event for the first time this week. He needed two and a half hours to beat Richard Gasquet in the first round two days ago, running his cumulative time on court to five and a half hours.

Sinner’s victory was his second of the season over his compatriot and put him into a ninth quarter-final of the season and second in a row on grass after ‘s-Hertogenbosch last week.

“It was a tough match, I had a lot of chances in the first set,” the winner said. “But that can happen, it’s never easy on grass.

“I’ve played for a lot of hours but it means I can touch more balls on the grass.  

It gives me a lot of confidence.”

Sinner said he had never played under the roof either here or at Wimbledon, but called the experience “all positive.”

Sonego missed on all eight of his break chances while Sinner took victory with 33 winners and 23 unforced errors.