Sinner hits a new high in his title defence debut in Montreal | ATP Tour

Jannik Sinner

Sinner accelerates in his debut for the defense of the title in Montreal

August 08, 2024

Top seed Jannik Sinner began his title defence in dominant fashion on Thursday at the Omnium Banque National presented by Rogers. The Italian, playing his first singles match 30 days after his Wimbledon quarter-finals, beat Croatian Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4 in Montreal.

Sinner struck the ball with quality and showed no signs of lacking rhythm once he found his groove in the early stages. The 22-year-old, who missed the Paris Olympics with tonsillitis, dropped just four points on his first serve in what was his first hard-court match since winning the Miami title in March.

“I’ve only been here for a short time, so maybe I’m a bit more used to the conditions, but I’m still very happy with the performance,” Sinner said. “It was a very tough match. Even looking at the score, it looked closer. I had to save a break point in the second set, and if he could do that, it could change the match. I had a very good mentality today and I’ll try to keep it up.”

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The 14-time tour champion focused on his deep returns to put pressure on Coric in the early rallies. Sinner created 11 break point opportunities, converting three of them, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I felt like I was hitting the ball pretty cleanly today,” said Sinner, who is in the doubles quarter-finals alongside Jack Draper. “It’s very difficult to play here, it’s a bit cold and windy and the ball flies around a bit, so we’re trying to get better day by day. Today was definitely a very positive day, so let’s see what it brings.”

Sinner’s title last year at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada marked his first trophy at that level. Sinner, who turns 23 next week, has since climbed to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, has a 43-4 record on the season and leads the ATP Tour in hard-court wins (23) this year.

Seeking his fifth title of the season, Sinner will face Alejandro Tabilo, the fifteenth seed, in the round of 16, who beat Lorenzo Sonego.