Brilliant Sinner defeats a fine Gasquet to reach the third round of the French Open
Jannik Sinner continues to make progress in Paris. After a decent first-round performance (6-3, 6-3, 6-4 win over Eubanks), the Italian took things up a notch again on Wednesday evening. Faced with a very combative Richard Gasquet, who had the support of the French public, the world number 2 produced a near-perfect performance, winning in just over 2 hours (6-4, 6-2, 6-4).
Efficient on serve (77% first ball, 8 aces), incisive on return (5 successful breaks) and very powerful from the baseline (38 winners, 28 unforced errors), the Transalpine didn't really let the crowd believe it. A very serious player, the winner of the last Australian Open managed the important points perfectly to avoid any unnecessary cold sweats.
The only slight worry for the 22-year-old was his hip. After admitting that he wasn't at 100% physically after his first match, Sinner seemed to drag his feet a little. Gritting his teeth and stretching regularly between points, he nevertheless didn't call in the physio, quickly recovering the break he'd lost.
Tennis-wise, Sinner is playing prodigiously well. Physically, his state of health remains to be monitored, and we'll have to see how his condition evolves. The first part of the answer may come in the third round, where he will meet the winner of the match between Wawrinka and Kotov.
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