Coming off the back of a solid run in Montpellier, which led him to earn his maiden title at the Open Sud de France last weekend, a confident Jannik Sinner arrived in Rotterdam to contest the 50th edition of the prestigious ATP 500 event, the ABN AMRO Open staged on Rotterdam Ahoy Arena.
The 21-year-old took down Benjamin Bonzi, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, after two hours and four minutes on Wednesday.
After a challenging encounter, he asserted: “It was not easy for me. We made a lot of unforced errors today. But still, I tried to stay focussed [on] my game.”
Despite dropping the second set, Sinner found a way to recover, moving on to the second round.
“I started very well, and I finished quite well, so I’m happy. Let’s see what’s going to happen in the next round.”
Next, World No. 14 will face 2022 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas, who ousted Finn Emil Ruusuvuori in his opener with a 7-5, 6-1 victory in Rotterdam.
The 24-year-old made a slow start to the first set, getting tested by the World No. 52.
However, the nine-time ATP titlist improved his game, finding his rhythm to topple his opponent in one hour and 33 minutes.
Afterward, he stressed: “It wasn’t my best tennis. I had trouble adapting to the speed of the ball on Centre Court and had to adapt my footwork. He had a chance to win the first set, but luckily I started making fewer unforced errors.”
“I had an opportunity in the last game to come back. I regenerated some awesome tennis, and I recaptured that first set, which was crucial.”
“I think from that point onwards, it was flawless tennis. I was able to produce some really good shots.”
For his part, Sinner spoke about the Greek, outlining: “Stefanos is an incredibly good player. It will be difficult, of course, but I’m looking forward to this kind of competition.”
The top seed leads the Montpellier reigning champion in their series 5-1, having met last month at the Australian Open.
At the time, Tsitsipas edged the Italian player in five sets in the round of 16, eventually advancing to the final, which he lost to Novak Djokovic in a thrilling three-setter on Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.
In 2020, the year of his debut at the hard-court tournament, Sinner reached the quarterfinals - fell to Pablo Carreno Busta.
Last season he missed the event due to the Flu (January) and Covid-19 (February).
Reigning champion Felix Auger-Aliassime also reached the second round by outlasting Lorenzo Sonego 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday, producing his sixth consecutive win in Rotterdam.
The Canadian captured his first ATP title last year at the ABN AMRO Open by beating Tsitsipas in the championship match.