World number one Jannik Sinner advanced to the third round of the French Open on Thursday, May 29, defeating Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 in the final match of the Frenchman’s career.
Sinner, the reigning US and Australian Open champion, is currently on a 16-match Grand Slam winning streak and is aiming to become the first Italian man to win the French Open since 1976. He will next face Czech player Jiri Lehecka, ranked 34th, for a spot in the round of 16. Lehecka defeated Spanish 26th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in four sets.
Sinner secured an early break for a 3-1 lead in the first set and then fought off three break points to serve it out against Gasquet, who was playing in his 22nd and final French Open. The 23-year-old top seed dominated the second set against his opponent, who will turn 39 next month and made his Roland Garros debut in 2002, when Sinner was just a few months old.
Gasquet’s 610 match wins are the most by a Frenchman in the Open era, and he received a warm reception on Court Philippe Chatrier as he held serve to begin the third set, ending a seven-game losing streak. He offered more resistance in the third set, battling to extend his final tournament appearance, but Sinner ultimately broke for a 5-4 lead before closing out the match.
“Thank you for being very fair with me today, I know what was at stake,” Sinner told the crowd after the match. “It’s your (Gasquet’s) moment. Congrats on an amazing career.”
About The Author
