Jannik Sinner taught some tight tennis lessons to Alex de Minaur on Wednesday at the Rod Laver Arena. The World No.1 seemed to be in a rush as he thrashed the local boy in 1 hour and 48 minutes. With that, he sealed his spot in the last four of the Australian Open, with a comfortable score line of 6-3, 6-2, 6-1. However, one critic on social media, who’s never been his fan, had other perspectives on this quarterfinal encounter. He believes it was Minaur who surrendered to Sinner and didn’t even try. Well, the Aussie has now come forward with a perfect response.

Pavvy G, who’s a hardcore Novak Djokovic fan, always remains in the news for his unpleasant takes. Moreover, he’s not been a huge admirer of Sinner. It becomes evident from his harsh reactions towards him. For example, last season he targeted the Fox amid the doping case. It was when he was found positive for banned substance Closetbol. Casting doubt on Sinner’s integrity, back in August, he wrote on X, “Sinner said they knew straight away that it was Clostebol. How did that they know that Clostebol that was the banned substance? People are free to make their own minds up but for me, this feels like it was a pre-planned excuse. Too many things don’t add up.”

The blogger didn’t miss another chance to take shots at Sinner – but indirectly.

While the two-time Grand Slam winner may have won with a stellar performance against Minaur, Pavvy G thinks his opponent wasn’t capable enough. In a post on X, dated January 22, he wrote, “Alex De Minaur has zero self belief that he can even compete with Sinner let alone beat him. Awful performance from him.” But World No.8 Minaur had a perfect reply ready.

Hitting back at Pavvy G, he wrote, “Hey mate, it’s a shame that you never became a good enough player to experience playing Jannik.” Adding to his reply, he mentioned, “I’m sure you would’ve put up a better performance and know exactly how to beat him. Wishing you all the best!!!”

The Aussie’s response also indicates that he’s got huge admiration for Sinner and why not! Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t match the excellence of the Fox at the Rod Laver Arena. This encounter truly showed him the real might of Sinner on the court.

Alex de Minaur explains what it’s like to play against Jannik Sinner

For the unversed, Wednesday’s win was Jannik Sinner’s 10th overall against Alex de Minaur. In their h2h battles, the Aussie has never managed to pull off a single victory. Currently, the Fox is leading the tally 10-0. Such is the pressure of the World No.1 on Minaur. After his QF loss to the Italian, he revealed what really makes Sinner an indomitable force. Especially on hard courts. Since last season, he’s won two Majors and the ATP Finals trophy on hard courts, proving his mettle.

While reacting to Sinner’s aura and the experience of playing him, Minaur said in the post-match conference, “Yeah, I mean, he’s built this aura up from beating everyone. Like, that’s the thing about it, right?”

Continuing further, he added, “It’s not like he’s just had a good week here or good week there. He’s just beaten everyone. I think the best way to describe it is the fact that he was able to, I don’t know if it was last year or two years ago, play Novak here and play pretty flawless, and, again, give him not too many games, right?” Minaur referred to last year’s SF clash between the Fox and 10-time AO king Djokovic. In that match, the tennis GOAT couldn’t do anything to overcome Sinner. The latter eventually won with a score line of 6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3.

The Aussie simply implied that playing against Sinner is like entering “a battle, it’s going to be tough, you’re going to try different things. But then you’re an hour and 30 in, and you’re struggling to win games, and you’re trying to find ways to get on the board. It’s pretty surreal.”

After defeating Minaur, Sinner will now face America’s Ben Shelton in the SF round on Friday. The Italian will look to win this encounter and move one step closer towards defending his title. Do you think he will be able to do it? Let us know in the comments below.