Sinner erases double-break deficit to seal straight-sets Roland Garros win

In an entertaining Monday-night match at Roland Garros, Jannik Sinner passed a stiff test from the newly married Arthur Rinderknech to begin his campaign at the clay-court major. 

Sinner extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 15 matches with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 victory against the home favourite, who had the full backing of the Court Philippe-Chatrier crowd as he attempted to become the first Frenchman to beat a reigning World No. 1 at Roland Garros. Instead, the Italian swiftly returned to the win column after Carlos Alcaraz snapped his 26-match winning streak in the Rome final.

“First-round matches, they are never easy, so I’m very happy with how I handled the situation, especially in the third set,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “Coming through in straight sets for me means a lot. Me and him, we’ve played already a couple of times before, so we know each other already. He is an amazing player.”

Just a week after his wedding, an inspired Rinderknech created the first three break points of the match as he executed an aggressive game plan from the first ball. But Sinner, who will mark 52 weeks atop the PIF ATP Rankings at the conclusion of Roland Garros, took control of the match after he broke to secure the opening set.

Rinderknech reasserted himself to take a 4-0 lead in the third set, taking advantage of a brief dip in Sinner's form and continuing his game plan of attacking at every opportunity. The Frenchman played to the crowd throughout his purple patch, high-fiving fans after key points and soaking in the applause after hot shots.

With the Chatrier crowd looking forward to the prospect of a fourth set, Sinner rattled off seven of the match's final eight games to finish the match in two hours, 15 minutes. The Italian converted on seven of his eight break chances, according to Infosys Stats, including all three in the final set.

After improving to 3-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Rinderknech, Sinner will next face another Frenchman: former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet.

“It doesn’t get any better. I’m very happy to be in this position. I know where he is in his position, he gave so much to our sport,” Sinner said. “He gave so much to you all. He’s a player you’ve watched for years and years and me too, so I’m very happy to share the court with him. Hopefully it’s going to be a good match, which is the most important.”

Gasquet ensured that he won’t go down without a fight in his final tournament before hanging up his racquet. The 38-year-old Frenchman, who will retire at the conclusion of the event, defeated fellow wild card Terence Atmane 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, 6-0. Gasquet made his Roland Garros debut in 2002 and notably reached the quarter-finals in 2016.

Also in the draw's top quarter, French No. 1 and 14th seed Arthur Fils earned his first Roland Garros main-draw win in his third appearance. The 20-year-old defeated Nicolas Jarry 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 to complete the box set of at least one match win at all four majors. Fils next faces Jaume Munar and is seeded to meet Sinner in the fourth round.