US Open, Jannik Sinner overcomes Gael Monfils in the 5th set: Italy sets a record in the second round

There are games that mark a player’s career. For Jannik Sinner the third round with Gael Monfils falls into this category. For the score, for the importance of the stakes, but above all for the pathos, the ability to arouse intense emotion. In the audience and in the players themselves. On the South Tyrolean Louis Armstrong, which we are normally used to seeing composed and cold on the pitch, he has transformed, giving us a rainbow of emotions, from the anger that makes you nudge the locker room tunnel to the wildest joy after completing a feat. This is the essence of sport. And Jannik’s coming-of-age novel has another wonderful chapter today. Waiting for an eighth of the US Open to play which, if all goes as expected, will be against the 2020 finalist and gold medalist in Tokyo, Sascha Zverev (engaged tonight against Sock). Possible remake of the round of 16 of Roland Garros 2020.

The match report

Back from two not entirely convincing performances with Purcell and Svajda, Sinner starts with the turbo against Monfils: after a break and counter-break the blue pulls out a spectacular tie-break that leaves the Frenchman stunned: 7-1. The bleeding in the game of the 35-year-old from Paris does not stop. The sudden accelerations of Piatti’s pupil wear him out and in the blink of an eye he finds himself under two partials with two surgical breaks by Jannik: 6-2. The inertia is all on the side of the 20-year-old from Sexten who also builds a 5-3 ball in the third set. Monfils is, however, good at holding on to the match and at the sixth break point he returns to the partial and wins it 6-4. Sinner does not break down and at the change of court he is a machine: 1, 2, 3, 4 to 0 with a recovery from the tennis anthology (also applied by the opponent).