After winning the Miami Open, Jannik Sinner headed to the Monte-Carlo Masters with a bit of trepidation in a similar vein to Novak Djokovic, but like his rival for the World No.1 spot, it was soon brushed aside as he thrashed Sebastian Korda to reach the third round.
Sinner admitted to having minimal expectations on clay with the Italian showing only glimpses in the past, but against the American he was sublime as he eased through 6-1, 6-2. It was over in just over an hour and 15 minutes. Next up for the second seed is one Jan-Lennard Struff who came from the brink against Sebastian Baez and saw off Borna Coric in his second round. Grigor Dimitrov or Holger Rune lurk in his quarter.
Up to 23-1 this season and over 4,000 points banked alone, Sinner has sent a message that despite his reservations on the surface he is very much the man to beat still and is gunning for that World No.1 spot which he could feasibly attain by Rome. Sealing an early break of serve, he was nearly hit straight back but saved three break points. Korda’s nail in the coffin was sealed then as Sinner kept heaping the pressure on. After going 40-15 up on Korda’s serve, a back and forth saw Sinner eventually seal a second break at 4-1 up. He then held easily for 5-1 and claimed the set from there 6-1.
Set two was a bit more even at the start, but was still the tale of two breaks as both were fairly flawless on their own serves apart from at 3-1 for Korda and 6-2 to lose the match as Sinner picked him apart at a pivotal moment in each part of the set to look a good player distinctly average against him. He now moves on and given his form this season could be tough to stop.