Jannik SINNER’s mastery: Overcomes Gael MONFILS in hard-fought victory at Rotterdam Open

ATP
Thursday, 15 February 2024 at 21:34
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Jannik Sinner continues his winning streak, defeating Gael Monfils (No. 70) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 at the ATP 500 Rotterdam Open to advance to the tournament's semifinals. The Italian tennis player faced challenges but showcased his best tennis, securing his 12th consecutive match win and maintaining an undefeated record in 2024.
Monfils, at 37 years old, came off a tough match against Denis Shapovalov, winning 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in only his second victory in four tournaments in 2024. Sinner led the head-to-head 4-1, with their last encounter at the 2023 Canadian Open, where the Italian claimed the victory and ultimately took the title.
In the first set, the Australian Open champion started flawlessly with his serve, grabbing an early break in the second game to lead 3-0 with the serve. Although Monfils improved his serving consistency, Sinner, as usual, didn't give any opportunities from his serve, winning the set 6-4.
Sinner had a 67% first-serve win rate and a 78% overall win rate with both first and second serves. On the other hand, Monfils played with a 90% first-serve rate, winning 67% of those points, and a 50% win rate with his second serve (one of two points).
In the second set, Monfils considerably dropped his first-serve percentage to 48%. However, he still won 71% of points with his serve, similar to Sinner's 72%. With slight differences, the Frenchman capitalized on Sinner's second serve in the fourth game, securing the break on his first match point.
The advantage was enough for Monfils to stay ahead. At 5-3, Sinner had his only break point of the set but couldn't capitalize on it. Eventually, Monfils took the set 6-3, bringing the match to the third set.
However, in the final set, Monfils seemed far from his previous performance, appearing to run out of steam against an unyielding Sinner playing at the peak of his abilities. In just a few minutes, the 22-year-old young star sealed Monfils' fate by securing a break and taking a 3-0 lead.
There wasn't much Monfils could do on the return, and the third set belonged almost entirely to Sinner, who ultimately claimed victory with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. In the quarterfinals, he will face a surprising Milos Raonic (No. 309), who defeated the 8th seed Aleksander Bublik (No. 23) 6-4, 6-4. Sinner has no prior matchups against the Canadian.

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