Sinner Shines, Sets Potential Nadal Rematch At Roland Garros
Jannik Sinner battled past Mikael Ymer 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday to join fellow #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round at Roland Garros. The pair’s victories, with Musetti defeating Marco Cecchinato, means it is the first time two teenagers have reached the fourth round at Roland Garros since Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils achieved the feat in 2006.
Sinner, who hit 43 winners, crucially saved a set point to break back at 4-5 in the second, which helped him regain momentum as he marched to victory in two hours and 22 minutes. The Italian broke Ymer five times to improve to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head against the 22-year-old.
The 18th seed broke into the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time in April and will next play either Rafael Nadal, against whom he lost to in the quarter-finals in Paris last year, or Briton Cameron Norrie.
The 19-year-old Italian, who captured his second ATP Tour title in February at the Great Ocean Road Open (d. Travaglia) and reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final in March at the Miami Open presented by Itau (l. to Hurkacz), is now 24-10 on the season.
Sinner was dominant in the opening set, as he won 58 per cent of points on Ymer’s first serve. The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion used his heavy forehand to cause difficulties for the 22-year-old, who made 13 unforced errors.
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Ymer quickly raised his level in the second set and after saving three break points at 2-3, he gained the advantage himself to move 4-3 ahead when Sinner fired a backhand into the net. He played more aggressively, stepping into the court to notch nine winners, eight more than he hit in set one. However, Ymer failed to serve out the set, as Sinner hammered a forehand into the open court to level the score before breaking again to move ahead.
Just like the second set, the third continued to be a tight affair with Sinner fending off eight break points while Ymer saved three himself. With both showing excellent consistency from the baseline, it was Sinner who found the breakthrough at 4-3 when Ymer missed a forehand long. The Italian then held serve to advance.
Ymer defeated Roberto Carballes Baena and 14th seed Gael Monfils to reach the third round in Paris and equal his best Grand Slam Performance (Australian Open 3R, 2021). However, the World. No. 105 failed to become the first Swede to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Robin Soderling in 2011.