Sharp Sinner starts strong in Rotterdam

Jannik Sinner showed no signs of an Australian Open hangover at the ABN AMRO Open Wednesday night, defeating Botic van de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-3 to breeze into the second round.

Sinner will rise to a career-high No. 3 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this week if he goes one better than last year's runner-up finish at the ATP 500 and claims his 12th career title, which would be an Open Era record for an Italian man or woman.

"I've been working a lot in Monaco but I wanted to come here and feel the court. I'm happy to get my first win here over a really great player,” Sinner said.

"It's a little bit different [playing as a Grand Slam champion] and you have to be prepared for your opponents to know you better and know your weaknesses more, so you have to be prepared to work hard and be ready.”

The 22-year-old, who has now won his past 11 matches, will next face two-time champion Gael Monfils, who is riding an 11-match winning streak of his own at the Rotterdam Ahoy.

"Gael is a very dangerous opponent. It doesn't matter where you play him. He'll be a fan favourite for sure, but it's part of the game and you have to accept it," Sinner said. "It's always a really tough match when we play. I saw some of his first-round match and he played really, really well."

The newly minted Australian Open champion was sharp on return against van de Zandschulp. After watching three aces thunder by him in the opening game, Sinner earned break points in the Dutchman's remaining three service games of the set, breaking twice.

After pulling out of a 0/40 hole in the opening game of the second set, Sinner broke again and never let van de Zandschulp back into the match.

Sinner has now won 25 of his past 27 matches, a run that includes three wins over Novak Djokovic, including in the semi-finals of the Australian Open.

Second seed Andrey Rublev survived a three-set thriller against 2022 champion Felix Auger-Aliassime, rallying from a set down to win 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5.

Auger-Aliassime fired 20 aces according to Infosys ATP Stats, but couldn’t convert on three break point chances in the final set.

Rublev improved to 9-1 on the season, his only loss coming against Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open quarter-finals. The 2024 Hong Kong champion next faces a rematch with Alex de Minaur, whom he defeated in five sets last month in Melbourne. Rublev has reached the Rotterdam quarter-finals five times from his six appearances.

Resilience personified 👏@AndreyRublev97 saves 3⃣ MPs to turn the match around 🆚Auger-Aliassime!@abnamroopen | #abnamroopen pic.twitter.com/cwAQ2hcKsI

— ATP Tour (@atptour) February 14, 2024