Jannik Sinner sent a strong message to his French Open competitors after delivering a commanding straight-sets victory over Andrey Rublev in the last 16 on Monday.
Despite Rublev’s reputation as the 17th seed and a formidable opponent, world number one Sinner cruised through the night session on Court Philippe Chatrier with a 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 win.
“Matches can turn quickly, especially in best-of-five formats, which can last a long time,” Sinner said. “I’m very happy to finish it in three. These night sessions in Paris are very special.”
The Italian, who recently returned from a three-month doping suspension in May, will face unseeded Kazakh player Alexander Bublik in the quarter-finals. Sinner leads their head-to-head 3-1 but lost their most recent encounter last year on grass in Halle.
Sinner is chasing a third consecutive Grand Slam title in Paris, having secured last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open earlier in January.
This win also served as some revenge after Sinner was forced to retire injured against Rublev at Roland Garros in 2022.
On Monday, Sinner was clinical, hitting five aces and 25 winners, leaving Rublev struggling to keep up.
“There’s a storm going on inside, but tennis is a mental game and you don’t want to show anything to your opponent,” Sinner explained about his composed on-court presence. “In my young career, the storm was also outside, not only inside.”
After saving two break points in the opening game, Sinner took control, racing to a 5-0 lead and closing the first set despite missing a set point.
He continued to dominate, breaking Rublev to lead 2-1 in the second and sealing the set after another break of serve.
Rublev, backed by the crowd and a ten-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist, raised his level in the third set but could not convert his only break point after the opening game. Sinner held firm on serve and clinched the match when a Rublev forehand clipped the net and drifted wide on match point.
