Jannik Sinner ends Atmane's dream run to reach Cincinnati final
Sinner won a remarkable 91% of his first-serve points, did not face a single break point during the 86-minute match and converted two of five break points in his first career meeting with world number 136 Atmane.
"Very, very tough challenge," Sinner said on court after being serenaded with "Happy Birthday" by the crowd.
"Every time when you play against someone completely new it's very difficult.
"I knew that I had to be very, very careful and my mindset today was in a good spot. I feel like I handled situations on the court very well."
The Italian world number one had his hands full throughout a tightly contested first set which featured an imperious serving display from both men and not a single break point opportunity for either player.
Sinner, who lost just three points on serve in the opening set, held to love for a third consecutive game to force the tiebreak where Atmane gifted his opponent the opening point with a double fault and from there the Italian never looked back.
The reigning US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion opened the second set with a nine-minute hold of serve, then held to love before finally breaking Atmane for a 3-1 lead that gave him the cushion he needed.
Sinner followed that with another hold to love to go 4-1 up and all but end any hope for Atmane, who beat top-10 players Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune en route to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final.
With Atmane serving at 2-5 and looking to stay in the match, Sinner quickly jumped ahead 0-40 before sealing the win on his third match point when the Frenchman sent a forehand into the net.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Jannik Sinner ends Atmane's dream run to reach Cincinnati final
Top seed and defending champion Jannik Sinner, playing on his 24th birthday, ended French qualifier Terence Atmane's dream run at the Cincinnati Open with a 7-6(4) 6-2 win on Saturday to reach the final of the US Open tune-up event. Sinner won a remarkable 91% of his first-serve points, did not face a single break point during the 86-minute match and converted two of five break points in his first career meeting with world number 136 Atmane. "Very, very tough challenge," Sinner said on court after being serenaded with "Happy Birthday" by the crowd. "Every time when you play against someone completely new it's very difficult. "I knew that I had to be very, very careful and my mindset today was in a good spot. I feel like I handled situations on the court very well." The Italian world number one had his hands full throughout a tightly contested first set which featured an imperious serving display from both men and not a single break point opportunity for either player. Sinner, who lost just three points on serve in the opening set, held to love for a third consecutive game to force the tiebreak where Atmane gifted his opponent the opening point with a double fault and from there the Italian never looked back. The reigning US Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon champion opened the second set with a nine-minute hold of serve, then held to love before finally breaking Atmane for a 3-1 lead that gave him the cushion he needed. Sinner followed that with another hold to love to go 4-1 up and all but end any hope for Atmane, who beat top-10 players Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune en route to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. With Atmane serving at 2-5 and looking to stay in the match, Sinner quickly jumped ahead 0-40 before sealing the win on his third match point when the Frenchman sent a forehand into the net.
Irish Examiner
15 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Liverpool match halted after Bournemouth's Semenyo reports racist abuse from crowd
Liverpool's Premier League season-opening match against Bournemouth was briefly halted on Friday after visiting forward Antoine Semenyo reported getting racist abuse from the crowd. Referee Anthony Taylor stopped play at a Liverpool corner in the 29th minute to address the incident, summoning both managers to the touchline for a briefing. Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk and Bournemouth counterpart Adam Smith were then called over to the benches for further instructions before play resumed four minutes later. Following halftime, an anti-discrimination message was read out to the crowd at Anfield. Ghana international Semenyo, 25, went on to score twice after play resumed, helping his side to briefly level the score before reigning Premier League champions Liverpool secured a 4-2 victory with a late surge. "We're very concerned about the allegation of discrimination from an area of the crowd," England's Football Association said in a statement. "Incidents of this nature have no place in our game, and we will work closely with the match officials, the clubs, and the relevant authorities to establish the facts and ensure that the appropriate action is taken." Merseyside Police said a 47-year-old man had been ejected from Anfield after reports of the racist abuse, adding that an investigation was under way. Liverpool said they would fully support the police investigation. "Merseyside Police will not tolerate hate crime of any form," Chief Inspector Kev Chatterton, the match commander for the game, said in a statement. "We take incidents like this very seriously, and in cases like this we will be proactively seeking football banning orders, with the club, against those responsible. "There is no place for racism and it is vital that anyone who witnesses such an offence reports it to stewards, or the police immediately, so we can take the necessary action like we did this evening" Liverpool coach Arne Slot was upset about the incident. "It is clear that we do not want this in football," the Dutchman said. "We definitely don't want this at Anfield ... This should never happen in football, let alone at Anfield." Bournemouth coach Andoni Iraola said: "Straight away, Antoine and the referee told us. The person has been identified. "It's a big shame that these things keep happening. It's the first game of the season, a lovely game of football, and I have to speak about these things happening." The incident at Anfield follows reports of Tottenham Hotspur's French forward Mathys Tel being subjected to racist abuse on social media after missing a penalty in his side's UEFA Super Cup defeat by Paris St Germain on Wednesday.
RTÉ News
15 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Jeongeun Lee5 leads in Portland as Stephanie Meadow misses cut
Jeongeun Lee5 shot a second-round 67 to lead the Portland Classic at the halfway point while Antrim's Stephanie Meadow missed the cut. The Irish golfer had finished strongly on Thursday to card a level-par 72, but a second-round 77 saw her fall to five-over for the tournament, 17 shots off the summit. Starting at the 10th, Meadow bogeyed both par fives in her opening three holes with two further bogeys and a double at the 16th sending her tumbling down the leaderboard. She steadied the ship coming in, going under par with three birdies to two bogeys, but was never in contention of being around for the weekend. South Korea's Lee5 had started the second round one stroke behind French rookie Adela Cernousek, and her round of 67 saw her move to 12-under and one clear of Australia's Grace Kim and America's Gurleen Kaur.
