Jannik Sinner continued his dominant indoor run as he defeated Francisco Cerundolo 7-5 6-1 in the Round of 16 stage at the Paris Masters on Thursday (October 30).
The Italian, who is on an impressive 23-match winning run at indoor events, did not have the easiest of times against his Argentine opponent.
Cerundolo broke back against the World No. 2 on two occasions in the opening set, with the latter appearing to move uncomfortably between points.
However, Sinner managed to get a third and decisive break in the 12th game to avoid a tiebreak and claim the set.
The recently crowned Vienna champion would soon step up a gear, as he delivered a forehand winner to eventually break Cerundolo’s serve in a 10-minute game early in the second set.
Sinner would then land one more break as he sealed the second set in just 37 minutes to secure passage to the final eight.
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New achievements set by Sinner after latest outing in Paris
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Sinner’s most recent victory has now seen him reach the quarter-final stage of the Paris Masters for the very first time.
In doing so, the 24-year-old becomes the first Italian to reach the last eight of all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.
The reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion has collected four Masters titles to date, triumphing in Toronto, Miami, Cincinnati and Shanghai.
American star Ben Shelton awaits Sinner in the quarter-finals, with the match scheduled to take place on Friday evening (October 31).
Speaking post-match, the Italian was aware that he did not play to his best in the opening stages of Thursday’s contest and is looking to be back to his best against Shelton.
“I put myself in not an easy situation, but I am happy with how I ended the match and I felt much better. Hopefully, it will give me the confidence to start off in a good way tomorrow,” he stated.
“Hopefully, I can recover physically, which is my main priority. Today was a great match and a great performance from my side,” the remaining top seed added.
Sinner will be looking to go all the way in Paris, not only to win the event for the first time, but to reclaim the World No. 1 spot from Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard’s shock opening round loss to Cameron Norrie in the French capital has opened the door for Sinner to return to the top of the ATP rankings should he triumph in the French capital.
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