Jannik Sinner has moved into the second round of the Masters 1000 tournament in Montecarlo. The 19-year-old Sesto defeated the Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas (ATP 47) in two sets 6: 3, 6: 4.
Sinner meets Novak Djokovic
In round 2, Sinner will be put to the test on Wednesday. There he meets superstar Novak Djokovic.
The Serb has been number 1 in the world for 311 weeks now. Since yesterday he has overtaken Roger Federer, who was number 1 in the world rankings for 310 weeks. Djokovic has won 82 ATP titles so far in his career.
Sinner and the 33-year-old Serb have never faced each other in an official match, for the Sextner it is the 10th overall duel against a top 10 player. Sinner has a record of 3: 6 wins.
Sovereign win against Ramos-Vinolas
The Pusterer, currently number 22 in the world, had no luck at the start of the clay court season. In lap 1, Sinner met the Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas on the Côte d’Azur. The number 47 in the world is a force on clay, having reached the finals of the first two clay court tournaments of the season in Cordoba and the semi-finals in Buenos Aires. The 33-year-old from Barcelona was only eliminated in the semi-finals in Marbella on Saturday. In addition, Ramos-Vinolas was already in the 2017 final in Montecarlo, where he had to admit defeat to his compatriot Rafael Nadal.
After losing the quarter-final at the French Open in October against Nadal, Sinner no longer played an official match on the red ashes. In the first meeting between Sinner and Ramos-Vinolas it was the Spaniard who got off to a better start. In the opening game, he took the South Tyrolean serve to make it 1-0 and immediately increased it to 2-0.
But Sinner’s reaction was not long in coming. The Pusterer countered with the rebreak to 2: 2 and shortly afterwards secured the next break to 4: 2. The world number 22. This lead could not be taken away and after 33 minutes of play he converted his second set point to 6: 3. Up until then a very strong performance from Sinner.
In the second part of the game, Sinner Ramos-Vinolas promptly took over the service for the 1-0 lead. In the fourth game, the Sesto had to fend off two breakballs from the Spaniard before he made it 3-1. Sinner defended his lead and didn’t risk anything in the games that followed. After 1:24 hours, Riccardo Piatti’s protégé closed the sack to make it 6: 4. A princely start for Sinner in Monte Carlo.
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