Jannik Sinner has continued his excellent summertime form, defeating French stalwart Adrian Mannarino in the Cincinnati Open fourth round.
Sinner has failed to drop a set so far in his three Cincinnati Open matches. However, this was his toughest match yet, with 37-year-old Mannarino utilising all his experience and nous to cause trouble for the Italian.
The world number one eventually emerged as the victor, winning 6-4 7-6.
Sinner faces 23rd seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals, a player who has beaten Sinner in both of their previous two meetings.
Photo by Frey/TPN/Getty Images
With victory over Mannarino, Sinner accomplished something only the ‘Big Three’ have achieved since 1990.
Jannik Sinner joins the ‘Big Three’
Jannik Sinner’s greatness has already been cemented after lifting his first Wimbledon title in July.
However, the 23-year-old has broken into new territory with his latest victory: joining a conversation with Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
As per OptaAce, Jannik Sinner has reached a ninth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.
The Italian has now become the fourth player since 1990 to achieve the feat after Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer.
If Sinner can defeat Felix Auger-Aliassime for the first time in his career when they play in the quarter-finals, the Italian will have moved a step closer to defending the 1000 points he achieved by winning the Cincinnati Open in 2024.
Sinner’s potential semi-final opponent is either seventh seed Holger Rune or qualifier Terence Atmane, the 23-year-old Frenchman who has enjoyed a marvellous week in Cincinnati, defeating Taylor Fritz, Flavio Cobolli and Joao Fonseca on his way to the quarter-final stage.
Jannik Sinner’s near-perfect statistic
Jannik Sinner’s brutal consistency was demonstrated yet again on Wednesday evening.
Despite only landing 55 per cent of his first serves against Adrian Mannarino, the Italian managed to win 33 of those 34 points.
It is therefore not surprising that Mannarino had only one break-point opportunity on the Italian’s serve, one which was not converted.
However, a more surprising statistic comes in the form of total service points won. Mannarino won 52 to Sinner’s 48.
In contrast, Sinner dominated the receiving statistics, capturing 31 points to Mannarino’s 14.