Jannik Sinner may just be the man to beat at the French Open, with the young Italian going very strong in Paris.
The 22-year-old has stormed into the third round in Paris, having beaten Richard Gasquet in the second round.
That victory came after a first round win over Chris Eubanks, who won the hearts of fans after giving his racket to a young supporter following the loss.
Sinner eased past the American in straight sets, and did the same to French native Gasquet in the next round.
Sinner now has the chance to make it to the fourth round for the fourth time when he takes on Pavel Kotov in round three.
Jannik Sinner impressed by French Open crowd
The Italian was perhaps expecting a chorus of boos from the home crowd having defeated one of their own.
But that wasn’t the case, with Sinner praising those watching on inside Philippe-Chatrier as he beat Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
“The atmosphere has been amazing,” said Sinner, as per the official Roland Garros website. “I know you guys were cheering for Richard, but it has been a very, very fair crowd.
French Open fans are hitting the headlines at Roland Garros
While Sinner has been impressed with the French Open supporters, there are other pros who simply cannot get on board.
Daniil Medvedev branded the French Open crowd as weird as he beat Dominik Koepfer in round one, while Belgian David Goffin accused them of ‘total disrespect’ during his first round clash with Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
More recently, Iga Swiatek and Naomi Osaka disagreed over the supporters following their epic second round meeting.
The former expressed her frustration at the crowd for shouting during the rallies, but the latter welcomed the noise and said it was ‘really cool’.
Other issues at the tournament include plenty of empty seats at several matches, although perhaps that is a problem that Sinner won’t mind too much as long as he continues winning.
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