Jannik Sinner Advances at Australian Open 2026 After Hugo Gaston Retirement

Jannik Sinner says he does not yet "feel very safe" with the changes he has made to his serve after starting his Australian Open title defence with a shortened first-round win against Hugo Gaston. The world number two and two-time defending Australian Open champion was in full control of the match at 6-2 6-1 up when Frenchman Gaston abruptly retired. Sinner led the way on percentage of service games won, external on the ATP Tour during 2025 (92%) but feels there is still "a lot of room to improve". Asked about changes he has made since his US Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz in September, the 24-year-old Italian said: "I felt like the serve was and still is a shot where I need to improve. "We changed the motion a little bit, the rhythm of the serve. Before, it was a bit too fast in the beginning, now it's a bit slower. "At times I still lose it. It's not a shot I feel very safe with, but we are working on that. "It is one of, if not the most, important shots we have because it can give you so many great things." Apart from the opening game of the match, when he recovered from 0-40 down to hold serve, Sinner was rarely troubled by world number 93 Gaston. Playing his first official match since winning the ATP Tour Finals in November, Sinner sent down three aces and an unreturnable serve during a run of five consecutive points to avoid that early break. He lost only nine more points behind his serve in the remainder of the match, served six aces in all and did not commit a double fault, ending with a first-serve percentage of 64%. Four-time Grand Slam champion Sinner reeled off four consecutive breaks of serve as he won nine games in a row, moving from 2-2 in the first set to the brink of a two-set lead. Gaston avoided a second-set bagel by holding serve at 5-0 down but the left-hander, who briefly received treatment at the end of the first set, elected to end the match after losing the second. "Obviously it's not the way you want to win the match. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope it's nothing too bad," added Sinner, who will face Australian wildcard James Duckworth in round two.