Electric evening – electric tennis.

Dazzling fireworks lit up the night above Stadium 1 on Friday night, and just prior to the fireworks show, World No. 2 and two-time semifinalist Jannik Sinner primed fans for the occasion.

Sinner dismantled Czech qualifier Dalibor Svrcina, 6-1, 6-1 with a jaw-dropping display of quickfire tennis that kept fans charged with enthusiasm.

“I’m very happy to be back here, I didn’t play here last year,” Sinner said. “I’ve missed playing here because the passion you guys have is amazing.”

All business

The Italian, who will face either Tomas Martin Etcheverry or Denis Shapovalov in the third round, was quick out of the blocks and never looked back against the 23-year-old World No. 109.

Svrcina had never faced a Top 10 player before Friday’s night session, and he was given a rude awakening as Sinner was sharp off the ground and lethal when he went on the attack, consistently keeping Svrcina on the ropes.

The No. 2 seed dropped just four points on serve in the opening set, powering through the final five games.

On the second point of the second set, he set the tone by sprinting the width of the court to flick a winning crosscourt forehand that elicited a colossal roar from the stands.

Off and running, the four-time Grand Slam champion broke for 2-0 and stayed on the front foot. Even games that featured world-class shotmaking from the Czech ended up going Sinner’s way. In the third game, Svrcina lifted a pristine lob high over Sinner’s head, and the Italian was already applauding by the time it landed a sliver inside the baseline.

Sinner still broke in the game and marched efficiently to the finish line, securing his 12th career Indian Wells victory in 64 blink-and-you-missed-it minutes.

On court after the match, Sinner was told that he is 33-0 in first-round matches since the summer of 2023.

“That’s a good stat,” he said. “We try to improve. I’ve been [in the desert] already for quite a long time, trying to adapt myself in the best possible way. Every day is different, yesterday it was much warmer and tonight it is a bit cooler. I’m happy how I reacted. Every match and every opponent is very tough to play. I’m happy how I started this tournament, and we’ll see how it goes in the next round.”