PARIS — When Jannik Sinner’s opponent within the French Open’s third spherical lastly received a sport Saturday, the Court docket Suzanne-Lenglen crowd responded with a standing ovation. Sinner was just too good on at the present time, extending his Grand Slam profitable streak to 17 matches and searching very very like the No. 1-ranked man.
Sinner dominated Jiri Lehecka 6-0, 6-1, 6-2 in 1 hour, 34 minutes, the quickest males’s match at Roland-Garros this yr and, measured by video games misplaced, probably the most lopsided victory at a serious match of Sinner’s profession.
“We attempt to enhance,” Sinner mentioned. “At the moment, I do not suppose there are various issues I can enhance.”
He can say that once more.
Sinner delivered 31 winners and made solely 9 unforced errors. He amassed 18 break factors, changing seven, and confronted only one, which he saved.
The primary 11 video games went Sinner’s manner. When Sinner missed a return vast, making the rating 6-0, 5-1 after 55 minutes of motion, Lehecka raised his arm and pumped his fist in a little bit of sarcastic celebration. The followers went wild, rising out of their seats and clapping and shouting, eliciting a smile from Lehecka.
Make no mistake, although. Lehecka isn’t any also-ran. The 23-year-old from Czechia is ranked thirty fourth and has been a Grand Slam quarterfinalist.
However he was utterly overmatched by Sinner, who has received the previous two main championships — on the US Open in September and the Australian Open in January — and is now the proprietor of an unbeaten run on the sport’s most necessary tournaments that has been surpassed this century solely by a trio of fellows by the names of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Sinner’s bid for a primary French Open title, and fourth Slam trophy total, will proceed Monday, when he’ll face No. 17 Andrey Rublev for a quarterfinal berth. Rublev superior when his opponent, No. 14 Arthur Fils, withdrew from the match due to a stress fracture in his decrease again.
American qualifier Ethan Quinn, the 2023 NCAA champion for Georgia, performed his second consecutive five-setter and was overwhelmed by Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 4-6, 6-1, 6-7 (2), 6-1, 6-4. Griekspoor got here into the day 0-4 in third-round matches at majors.
