The future appears to be now at the European Open, where Jannik Sinner ousted top-seed Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 during second-round action on Thursday evening. Sinner saved the only break point he faced and broke Monfils four times while coasting in exactly one hour.
“I played a very solid game,” the 18-year-old Italian commented. “He didn’t play his best tennis, for sure. It’s not easy if you make the final the year before and then to come here to play a young player and wild card. I think I played solid today. I served [well] on the important points and I think that was the key today.”
Next up for Sinner in Friday’s quarterfinals is a showdown against Frances Tiafoe in what could be a preview of an upcoming NextGen ATP Finals match in Milan. Sinner has a wild card into that season-ending tournament as Italy’s top NextGen hope while Tiafoe is No. 5 in the race and a lock to qualify for a return trip to Milan.
The 21-year-old American eased past Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4 on Thursday.
“I’m feeling really good,” Tiafoe assured. “I definitely needed this one. The last couple weeks haven’t been great for me, even the last couple months. To win two good matches back-to-back is very good.”
“He played very [well] today,” Sinner said of Tiafoe. “I watched a little bit of the match. He’s a good player, of course. I’m going to try my best and try to enjoy every single moment out there.”
Meanwhile, Andy Murray continues to enjoy his comeback more and more. The three-time major champion seems to improving with each week and he now finds himself in the Antwerp quarterfinals following Thursday’s 6-4, 6-2 defeat of Pablo Cuevas. Murray will be favored in his next match, too, after Marius Copil upset No. 3 seed Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(7).
“I felt a bit better today,” the 32-year-old Scot noted. “I thought I served quite well for most of the match and when I was able to get into the baseline rallies, I felt I was hitting the ball quite clean, which is good. He served very well, which made it difficult for me to get the breaks, but I thought for me it was a good match.”
An intriguing quarterfinal lineup also includes Stan Wawrinka vs. Gilles Simon. The two veterans scored respective wins over Feliciano Lopez and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Wednesday.
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nice one, Sinner
Nice one,but beating Murray would be unforgivable..