Paris, May 31 (IANS): In his battle for the top spot with Novak Djokovic, Australian Open winner Jannik Sinner stayed perfect as he continued to roll at the French Open, reaching the fourth round with a third consecutive victory in the 2024 edition of the clay court grand slam here on Friday.
Sinner, the second seed from Italy, maintained his perfect start in Paris by defeating Pavel Kotov 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, producing a rock-solid all-around display to prevail in a two-hour, 27-minute encounter between two of the cleanest ball-strikers on the ATP Tour.
There was some more good news for Italy as Matteo Arnaldi stunned sixth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4 in a third-round clash.
A single break of serve in each set proved enough for Sinner to clinch his victory and extend his ATP head-to-head series lead against Kotov to 2-0 after he also defeated the World No. 56 in Madrid last month.
With a 31-2 record for the season, Sinner will take on Sebastian Ofner or home favourite Corentin Moutet next in Paris.
Neither Sinner nor Kotov held back with their groundstrokes in an entertaining clash on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but Sinner’s serving ability proved decisive. The Italian saved the only break point he faced when leading 3-2 in the second set, and he finished the match having won 79 percent (41/52) of points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys Stats.
Sinner is competing for a double prize this fortnight at Roland Garros. As well as chasing his second major title after lifting the trophy at January’s Australian Open, the 22-year-old can guarantee his rise to No. 1 in the ATP Rankings for the first time by reaching the final in Paris. Even if he falls short of that goal, Sinner will still move into the top spot on June 10 if Novak Djokovic does not reach the championship match.
A quarterfinalist at Roland Garros in 2020, Sinner is seeded to meet his great rival Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals. Yet he is unlikely to be looking past his fourth-round meeting with Ofner or Moutet as he chases his fourth tour-level trophy of the year in the French capital.
Despite defeat to Sinner, Kotov’s maiden appearance in the third round at a major has boosted the 25-year-old’s bid to become a Top 50 player for the first time. He is up five spots to No. 51 in the ATP Live Rankings as a result of his run at Roland Garros, where he defeated 32nd seed Cameron Norrie and former champion Stan Wawrinka in the opening two rounds.