ATP Tour

Sinner stays flawless with Roland Garros rout; Zverev advances

Jannik Sinner sent a letter of intent Saturday at Roland Garros, where he brushed past Jiri Lehecka in just 94 minutes to reach the fourth round.

The top seed produced a lights-out display to prevail 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 and maintain his perfect set record at the clay-court major in Paris. Sinner, who dropped just nine points on serve across the match, according to Infosys Stats, also extended his winning streak at Grand Slam tournaments to 17 matches.

“I was playing really really well,” said Sinner. “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.”

Competing on an overcast day on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Sinner displayed expertly disciplined shot-making from the baseline, which was coupled with his ability to combat Lehecka’s serve with ease. This was highlighted by a series of rasping return winners he hit throughout the clash, including two from his forehand wing in the penultimate game of the second set.

After improving to 15-1 on the season, Sinner will continue his Roland Garros campaign against Andrey Rublev, whom he leads 6-3 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The 17th-seeded Rublev advanced to the fourth round via walkover after home favourite Arthur Fils withdrew due to injury.

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Sinner, who is next week set to complete 52 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, has now advanced to the fourth round in 14 of his past 15 major appearances. The Italian owns a 19-5 record at Roland Garros, underscored by his run to last year’s semi-final before falling to rival Carlos Alcaraz in five sets.

In Saturday’s third-round clash with the World No. 34 Lehecka, Sinner struck a total of 30 winners to just nine unforced errors to improve to 64 consecutive wins against players ranked outside the Top 20. This year in Paris, he is seeded for a quarter-final meeting with fifth seed Jack Draper, who brushed aside #NextGenATP star Joao Fonseca in straight sets on Saturday afternoon.

Over on Court Philippe-Chatrier, last year’s runner-up, Alexander Zverev reached the fourth round for an eighth consecutive year by defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-1 and snapping the Hamburg champion’s seven-match winning streak.

“This court is very special to me. I had some of the best memories of my life on this court, but I also had some of the worst memories on this court," said Zverev, who suffered an ankle injury, which required surgery, in the 2022 semi-finals against Rafael Nadal. "It’s a love story that hasn’t got to the happy end yet, but I hope someday it will.”

Zverev is just the eighth man in the Open Era to make eight or more consecutive appearances in the Roland Garros fourth round. The 28-year-old now owns an impressive 37-9 record at the clay-court major.

Reaching Men’s Roland Garros 4R in 8+ Consecutive Years (Open Era)

*plays for 16th consecutive Roland Garros R4 on Saturday

Zverev’s season has been a mix of highs and lows since reaching his third major final at the Australian Open in January. He suffered opening-round defeats in Indian Wells and Monte-Carlo before claiming the ATP 500 title in Munich.

At Roland Garros, Zverev will continue in his campaign for a maiden major title against Tallon Griekspoor, who survived a scare against American qualifier Ethan Quinn, prevailing 4-6, 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-1, 6-4.