Jannik Sinner made a statement at the French Open, comfortably defeating home favorite Richard Gasquet in straight sets to secure his place in the third round. Despite the convincing 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 victory, the second seed believes there is still room for improvement as he aims to win back-to-back Grand Slam titles following his maiden victory in Australia earlier this year.
Sinner, who has been managing concerns over a recent hip injury, was pleased with his progress but emphasized the need for continued practice and refinement. “For sure better than the first match. We try to keep practising and improve day by day,” Sinner said after the match. “I know I can improve a couple of things. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a very special tournament for me so hopefully I can show some good tennis.”
The match saw moments of vintage class from the 37-year-old Gasquet, but the veteran Frenchman could not mount a significant challenge against the world No. 2. Sinner paid tribute to Gasquet, saying, “As a player he gave and still gives so much to tennis, it’s so nice to have him around. I wish him the best for the rest of the season. He’s still playing incredible tennis.”
In the early stages of the match, both players were evenly matched until Sinner broke Gasquet’s serve in the seventh game, capitalizing on a double fault from the Frenchman to take a 4-3 lead. Sinner then served out the opening set, further extending his advantage.
The second set began disastrously for Gasquet, whose serve was broken in the opening game. The home crowd’s hopes dimmed further as Sinner secured a double break at 4-1, eventually coasting to a one-sided second set victory.
Sinner continued his dominance by breaking Gasquet’s serve in the first game of the third set. Although Gasquet fought back to level at 2-2, the Italian quickly regained control by breaking serve again in the next game. Sinner maintained his composure and strength in his service games, closing out the match in two hours and 15 minutes.
Looking ahead, Sinner is focused on maintaining his momentum and improving his game. His clinical performance against Gasquet is a promising sign for his ambitions at Roland-Garros, but Sinner is keenly aware of the areas he can still enhance as the tournament progresses.
Sinner at the French Open, ranking, and results in 2024
At the moment ranked no.2 (career-high), the Italian achieved a composed 30-2 win-loss record in 2024. Jannik is now playing at the French Open where he defeated the world no.46 Christopher Eubanks 6-3 6-3 6-4 and the world no.124 Richard Gasquet 6-4 6-2 6-4.
Jannik Sinner will play the world no.56 Pavel Kotov in the 3rd round on Friday at 2:00 pm on Court PHILIPPE-CHATRIER. Their current record is 1-0 for Sinner.
The Italian conquered 3 titles in 2024 at the Australian Open, Rotterdam and Miami.
Sinner won 14 titles in his career: 6 on hard courts, 1 on clay courts and 7 on indoor courts. (See the list of his titles)
Sinner is scheduled to play next in Halle (Terra Wortmann Open). He will start from the main draw that will commence on the 17th of June.
Jannik Sinner |
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