Jannik
Sinner has matched
Fabio Fognini as the Italian players with the most
quarterfinal appearances in
ATP Masters 1000 tournaments following Andy
Murray's withdrawal from the National Bank Toronto Open.
The young
Italian is touted as the leading figure in Italian tennis and is among the
young players who have achieved impressive results over the past year. At 21
years old, Sinner is at his career-high ranking of World No. 8 and fifth in the
ATP Race, trailing only Alcaraz, Djokovic, Medvedev, and Tsitsipas.
Sinner
continues to showcase consistency on the tour, reaching the quarterfinals at
the
Canadian Open this time. He has achieved this feat in four out of the last
five Masters 1000 tournaments he has played.
With this achievement, he matches the record set by Fabio Fognini, who was the Italian player with the most quarterfinal appearances in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments.
In addition
to Toronto, he reached the semifinals in Monte-Carlo and Indian Wells, as well
as the final in Miami. His only hiccup was in the Rome Open, where he was
defeated in the round of 16 by the Argentine Francisco Cerundolo.
Jannik
Sinner is competing in Toronto, his first tournament after Wimbledon, where he
reached the semifinals but fell to Djokovic. He started the Canadian Open with
a victory over his compatriot Matteo Berrettini, and following Murray's
withdrawal, he advanced directly to the quarterfinals.
The British
former World No. 1 suffered an unfortunate abdominal injury and decided to
withdraw from the tournament, raising questions about his potential participation
in the upcoming Cincinnati Masters 1000 next week and the US Open at the end of
August.
In the
quarterfinals, Sinner is set to face Gael Monfils, who has made an incredible
comeback to the court after over a year of absence due to injuries. The
Frenchman surprised everyone in the first round by eliminating the 4th seed
Stefanos Tsitsipas and later advanced with a victory over the Lucky Loser
Aleksander Vukic.
Sinner and
Monfils have faced each other on four occasions, with three victories for the
Italian, including their most recent match in the final of the 2021 Sofia Open,
which Sinner won. A victory would propel the 21-year-old into fourth place in
the ATP Race, surpassing Stefanos Tsitsipas.
