The dream run is over for Terence Atmane.
A matchup with the world No. 1 proved to be too much for Atmane, who lost to Jannik Sinner 7-6(4), 6-2 in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Saturday afternoon. Sinner secured his spot in a second straight Cincinnati title match after striking six aces without double-faulting and holding serve the entire way without facing a single break point.
The Italian was celebrating his 24th birthday on Saturday, and none other than Atmane made sure to give him a present. An avid Pokemon collector, the Frenchman gave Sinner a card while they were in the tunnel waiting to take the court.
Sinner was not about to hand out any party favors in return, however. Atmane played a fantastic first set to force a tiebreaker, but the defending champion led the ‘breaker from start to finish–beginning with a double-fault by Atmane on the opening point. Two breaks in the second set were more than enough for Sinner.
“It was a very, very tough challenge,” the top seed assured. “Every time you play against [someone] completely new, it’s difficult, but playing against this guy in the later stages of a tournament is even more difficult. The pressure is higher and you know they deserve to be there…. He has beaten incredible players throughout his wins.
“I knew that I had to be very careful, and my mindset was in a good spot. I felt like I handled the situations on the court very well. He was serving incredibly well in the first set. He has huge, huge potential, and I think we saw that in the tournament.”
Sinner awaits either Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev in Monday’s championship match.
nice one, Jannik