Jannik Sinner has not dropped a set in his passage to the third round of the French Open, but he reckons he can improve on a “couple of things” despite concerns of an injury resurfacing.
Sinner defeated home wild card Richard Gasquet in straight sets in Wednesday’s night session to keep his hopes of ascending to the World No. 1 ranking alive. He is also in contention to win his second Grand Slam.
The Italian will need to reach the final to guarantee a new career-high ranking or hope that Novak Djokovic fails to reach the final next Sunday to unseat the Serbian from the top spot.
But Sinner was made to work hard for victory by the French veteran, and panic set in when he looked in discomfort in the first few games of the third set.
It is unclear if this might be a recurrence of the hip injury he sustained at the Madrid Open in late April, which forced him out of action for three weeks and almost jeopardized his participation at the clay-court Grand Slam.
The 22-year-old did not specifically address the issue after beating Gasquet, but he walked warily between points from apparent physical strain in his body. Gasquet sensed this and even broke Sinner’s serve to level the third set at 2-all.
The second seed initially stated that his hip was not 100% after beating Christopher Eubanks in his opening match. Sinner’s doctors advised him against playing at Roland Garros, given the risk posed by the severe nature of his injury.
But he was satisfied by his performance and overcoming the short-lived pain he experienced in the third set to beat an inspired Gasquet in front of a partisan crowd.
“For sure better (his level) than the first match. We try to keep practising and improve day by day. I know I can improve a couple of things. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a very special tournament for me so hopefully I can show some good tennis.