Two out of two for the world number 1 at the Turin Masters. Easy win for Australian Alex De Minaur in his first match (6-3, 6-4), Jannik Sinner made light work of world number 5 Taylor Fritz in 1h40 (6-4, 6-4). The American, defeated Daniil Medvedev in his first match (6-4, 6-3), delivered a fine performance, but was punished by his opponent’s surgical efficiency.

Solid on his face-offs, Sinner only had to defend one break point out of his 10 service games. His opponent Fritz lost both sets at the worst possible moment. To pull level at 5-5, the finalist of the last US Open saw his opponent harden his game by pushing him to the foul.

Even with his two victories, Sinner’s qualification is not yet official. He will have to beat Daniil Medvedev, who bounced back on Tuesday against De Minaur, to earn his place in the last four. Taylor Fritz, meanwhile, will go from opponent to supporter of Sinner: if the Italian beats the Russian, his fate will be in his own hands.

With the possible withdrawal of Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner seems to be the great favorite for this Masters. A word of caution, however, as the recent winner of the Paris Masters 1000 Alexandre Zverev also got off to a good start in this competition.