Jannik Sinner begins Canadian Open title defense with dominant display against Borna Coric

Triumphant return for Jannik Sinner (No. 1) at Canadian Open after defeating Borna Coric (No. 94) by 6-2, 6-4 The defending champion successfully began his title defense against a tough opponent, securing his first hardcourt victory since the Miami Open in March.

Although Sinner started the match with some inaccuracies on his serve, he managed to improve and claim his fifth consecutive triumph at the Canadian Open. Last year in Toronto, he won his first Masters 1000 title, and now in Montreal, he aims to defend his 2023 crown.

From the start of the match, both players struggled with their first serves, with neither reaching a 50% first serve percentage throughout the first set. Despite this, Sinner won 75% of the points on his serve and 50% on return, taking advantage of his opponent’s second serve.

In the third game, Sinner quickly earned several break opportunities, and although Coric fought hard, he eventually lost his service game. From the baseline, the world No. 1 was much more aggressive, causing problems for his opponent in every return game. Sinner secured a second break in the 7th game and then closed out the set with his serve, winning 6-2 after 46 minutes.

After a strong first set from the 2024 Australian Open champion, the second set began in a similar fashion, although this time Coric showed more strength on his serve. However, Sinner capitalized on a single opportunity in the third game to break and take the lead in the second set.

From that point on, Coric stabilized his serve, and Sinner did not have any more break opportunities throughout the set. Nevertheless, the Croatian was unable to challenge the Italian’s serve. Coric had a break chance in the 6th game, but Sinner held firm, maintaining his serve until the end of the match, winning 6-2, 6-4 after an hour and 37 minutes. In the third round, he will face the winner between his compatriot Lorenzo Sonego (No. 57) or the 15th seed Alejandro Tabilo (No. 21).