MONTE CARLO: In his first match on clay this season, Jannik Sinner sweeps past Sebastian Korda 6-1, 6-2 to reach the third round at the Monte-Carlo Masters.
Sinner saved all three break points he faced and was impressive on his first-serve, winning 95 per cent (20/21) of points behind his first delivery to advance after 76 minutes.
The 22-year-old will next play Jan-Lennard Struff after the German defeated Borna Coric on Tuesday to earn his 200th tour-level win.
Sinner is chasing his second crown on clay after winning in Umag in 2022. He is making his fourth appearance in the Principality, where he advanced to the semi-finals last season.
Meanwhile, two-time champion Stefanos Tsitsipas also raced into the third round after the Greek dispatched Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-1, 6-0 in just 64 minutes to set a third-round clash against Alexander Zverev.
Tsitsipas, a champion in 2021 and 2022 in the Principality, struck 22 winners and broke Etcheverry’s serve six times according to ATP Stats to improve to 16-3 at the clay-court event.
The fourth seed Daniil Medvedev reached the third round in the Principality for the third time with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Frenchman Gael Monfils.
Medvedev, who reached the semi-finals in Monte-Carlo last season, will next play Karen Khachanov after the World No. 17 defeated Francisco Cerundolo 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Medvedev enjoyed success on clay last year, winning his maiden tour-level title on the surface at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome. The 28-year-old is chasing his first trophy of the season this week, with his best result in 2024 a final run at the Australian Open.
Casper Ruud dispatched Chilean Alejandro Tabilo 6-2, 6-4 in one hour and 23 minutes to reach the third round.
Ruud, who has captured nine of his 10 tour-level titles on clay, will meet 10th seed Hubert Hurkacz following his 21st tour-level victory of the year.
In other action, Holger Rune was leading 6-3, 2-1 when play was suspended for the day due to rain. The 20-year-old, who is competing in his first clay-court match of the season, reached the title match in Monte-Carlo last year.
Grigor Dimitrov, fresh off his final run in Miami, held a 6-4, 2-1 advantage against Miomir Kecmanovic when rain halted their match.