Second seed Jannik Sinner shook off a sluggish start and blazed into the French Open quarterfinals on Sunday with a 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-1 victory over local hope Corentin Moutet that kept his world number one dreams alive.
Australian Open champion Sinner was in a spot of bother in front of partisan fans on Court Philippe Chatrier as the off-colour 22-year-old went 5-0 down in 23 minutes, but he managed to get on the board and avoid an embarrassing bagel.
“It was very tough for me. I think he played very well in the first set,” said Sinner.
“I had some chances, but he played much better than me, so I had to adjust a little bit. He had an amazing run here at Roland Garros. The atmosphere as always was amazing.
“He plays differently to most of my opponents, so it was tough for me. He is also a lefty. You don’t play so many times against left-handers, so I’m happy to be in the next round.”
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Moutet, bidding to become the first Frenchman to make the Roland Garros last-eight since Richard Gasquet in 2016, mixed up his game and produced some spectacular shots, including a sliced winner from deep, for a first set point which he squandered.
After dropping serve against the run of play, world number 79 Moutet rode a huge wave of support and seized the opening set when Sinner hit a shot long before the duo exchanged breaks at the start of the second.
Sinner, whose preparation for Roland Garros was hampered by a hip injury and illness, looked like his usual self again from there on as he broke for a 4-2 lead before levelling the match and tightened his grip by waltzing through the third set.
The Italian, who can rise to world number one for the first time by reaching the final, had to wait to serve at 2-1 as fans refused to stop a Mexican wave, but he went on to seal the win that sent France’s last remaining hope out.
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