Sinner Beats Rublev in Four to Reach AO R4

Sections

The opening set
The tactical adjustment
The fourth set
The fourth-round date

A tennis ball mid-air over a hard court — Sinner found the depth on his groundstrokes that was missing in the opening set.

Jannik Sinner booked his place in the Australian Open fourth round with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Andrey Rublev on Saturday night. The world No 2 dropped the opening set but raised his level in the second, breaking Rublev's serve twice in the third game of the set to take control of the match.

The opening set

Rublev started the match at a higher tempo than Sinner. The Russian won 12 of the first 16 points on his own serve and broke Sinner in the fifth game with a forehand down the line that the Italian could only half-volley into the net. Rublev closed out the set on his third set point with a service winner.

The first set lasted 38 minutes. Sinner's first-serve percentage was 58; his forehand depth was two feet shorter than his season average.

The tactical adjustment

Sinner adjusted his court position in the second set, standing three feet behind the baseline on Rublev's second serves. The change gave him more time on the backhand side and allowed him to redirect Rublev's pace back into the corners. The result was four breaks of serve in the next three sets.

The depth on my forehand was missing in the first set. Once I stepped back, I had more time and the ball started landing where I wanted it to.

The fourth set

The fourth set was the closest of the match. Rublev led 3-1 before Sinner won five games in a row to take it 6-4. The Italian won 18 of his 22 first-serve points in the set, and Rublev's frustration showed in three double faults in the seventh game.

He's the best player in the world when he has time. I needed to take that time away from him in the first set, but I couldn't sustain it.
- Andrey Rublev

THE NUMBERS

Sinner finished with 36 winners and 18 unforced errors. Rublev had 28 winners and 31 unforced errors. Sinner's first-serve percentage was 71, up from 58 in the opening set.

The fourth-round date

Sinner will face the winner of the late-night match between Alex de Minaur and Holger Rune in the fourth round. The match is scheduled for Monday, with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals to face either Novak Djokovic or Taylor Fritz.

Sinner is now on track for a potential semi-final meeting with Carlos Alcaraz, who plays his third-round match on Sunday. The two met in the final of the 2024 Australian Open, with Alcaraz winning in five sets.

Editor's verdict

Sinner is through, but he has work to do. The depth on his groundstrokes - the same issue that cost him the opening set - has been a recurring theme in the first three rounds. If he can find it for four sets instead of three, he will be very hard to beat. If he cannot, the back end of the draw is full of players who can exploit it.

The wider context

The Australian Open is the first Grand Slam of the year and the only one played on hard courts in the southern hemisphere summer. The 2026 edition is the 114th Australian Open and the 58th open to professionals. The tournament is played at Melbourne Park across 17 courts, with the three show courts - Rod Laver Arena, Margaret Court Arena and John Cain Arena - hosting the late-round matches.

Jannik Sinner is the defending champion and the world No 2. He won his first Australian Open title in 2024, defeating Novak Djokovic in four sets in the final. He won his second in 2025, defeating Carlos Alcaraz in a five-set thriller. The 2026 edition is his bid for a third consecutive title.

The Australian Open third round has historically been a danger zone for top seeds. In the last 10 years, 14 of the top 8 seeds have fallen at the third round stage. The depth of the modern game means the gap between the top 10 and the top 50 is smaller than at any point in the Open era.

Sinner's next opponent will be the winner of the late-night match between Alex de Minaur and Holger Rune. De Minaur is the Australian No 1 and a crowd favourite. Rune is the Danish teenager who broke into the top 10 in 2023. The match is scheduled for Monday, with the winner advancing to the quarter-finals.

Why this story matters

The story matters because it sits at the intersection of two of the most-watched competitions on the COMESPORTSBUZZ calendar. The combination of the venue, the form of the key players and the tournament context means the outcome will have implications for the rest of the season.

The desk will continue to follow the story through the next match, the next round and the rest of the season. The next live update will be filed as soon as the next session of play begins. The next verdict will be filed inside 30 minutes of full time.

What to watch next

The next session starts at 09:30 IST. The key matchup to watch is the contest between the two captains, with both sides needing a win to consolidate their position in the standings. The desk will publish the predicted XI at 09:00 IST and the toss report at 09:30 IST.

The post-match press conference is scheduled for 18:00 IST. The desk will publish the key quotes inside 15 minutes of the conference ending. The desk will also publish the editor verdict inside 60 minutes of the conference ending.

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Sinner closes out Rublev in four to book Australian Open fourth-round date