French Open: Sinner downs Lehecka to set date with Rublev in fourth round
Paris: Jannik Sinner staged a flawless victory against Jiri Lehecka to set a date with Andrey Rublev in the fourth round of the ongoing French Open.
The top-seeded Italian dazzled spectacularly in the third round to wrap up a 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Lehecka in 94 minutes to continue with his scorching form. Sinner's dominance resonated in just nine dropped points from his serve.
"I was playing really, really well. Especially for two and a half sets, then he was serving very well, very brave. He made some good serve and volleys. But I'm very happy. Simone [Vagnozzi], my coach, had his birthday yesterday, and usually when he has his birthday, I don't play well. So this win is for him," Sinner said as quoted from ATP.
On a gloomy day on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Sinner controlled the game with his disciplined shot-making from the baseline. Apart from his sublime form, he effectively negated Lehecka's serves to take complete control of the driver's seat. Sinner mustered up a total of 30 winners to just nine unforced errors against world number 34 Lehecka.
The number one-ranked tennis star will face the aggressive Rublev, whom he leads 6-3 in their ATP Head2Head series. The 27-year-old Rublev moved to the fourth round via walkover after home favourite Arthur Fils withdrew from the tournament due to injury.
Sinner is en route to becoming the first Italian men's singles champion in the Open Era after Adriano Panatta, who achieved the feat in 1976. En route to the third round, Sinner shut the curtain down on Richard Gasquet's career as he soared to a convincing win on Thursday.
In his 22nd appearance at the clay-court major in Paris, the 38-year-old Gasquet's last dance concluded with a 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 defeat in a fixture that lasted for one hour and 58 minutes.
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