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.
Sinner overcomes
early struggles to defeat Coric
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).