Jannik Sinner avenged last year’s Rolex Monte-Carlo loss to Holger Rune and tied up their head-to-head series at 2-2 with a 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 victory during quarterfinal action on Friday afternoon.
Sinner ended up needing two hours and 40 minutes to complete what probably should have been a straight-set result. The world No. 2 twice led 0-40 in Rune’s service games during the second set only to see the Dane hold on both occasions. Rune also dug out of a double-match point hole at 4-6 in the ensuing tiebreaker.
A break at 4-3 in the third finally gave Sinner a stranglehold on the match that he did not relinquish.
Next up for the 22-year-old is Stefanos Tsitsipas, who cruised past Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-2.
“I would lie if I said it doesn’t bring good memories stepping out on this court,” said Tsitsipas, who lifted the Monte-Carlo trophy in both 2021 and 2022. “It’s something that I attribute some of my performances here over time to.
“I come back here and I sort of relive those memories of the past. It gives good feelings to me when I’m able to play in front of crowds like this and be able to try and strive for excellence with my game.”
Sinner and Tsitsipas will be facing each other for the ninth time on Saturday. The head-to-head series stands at 5-3 in favor of the Greek, but Sinner won their last two encounters in 2023.
Jannik still rolling