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Italian tennis star and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner delivered a fine performance in the second round of the ongoing French Open competition, defeating home favourite Richard Gasquet on Wednesday night.
He beat Gasquet by 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in a match lasting two hours and 14 minutes in which he played with his top form after a recent hip injury. But signs of physical struggle and strain appeared in the final set, as he walked gingerly in between points while facing a late surge from Gasquet. The second-seeded Italian has moved to round three without dropping a set, set to face Pavel Kotov, who defeated Stan Wawrinka 7-6(5), 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5). In the game, Sinner faced just two break points and erased Gasquet's first big opportunity to consolidate a break at love late in the opening set. But Frenchman fought back, breaking level the third set at 2-2. Despite some physical struggles in the final set, Sinner regrouped, but not before Gasquet fought through four deuces to hold and make his opponent serve out the match. Sinner is just four wins away from gaining the top spot in the ATP Rankings. In case he reaches the final or the current number one Novak Djokovic does not make it to the title clash, Sinner will make history by becoming the first-ever Italian world number one after the tournament. Gasquet, 37, on the other end is playing his 21st French Open tournament. His best result at this competition was a quarterfinal finish back in 2016. World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz faced a hard challenge from Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong on Wednesday at Roland Garros, eventually winning in four sets to go to the third round of the ongoing French Open 2024. The Spaniard started well but dropped his level in the third set, trailing by a break in the fourth. However, as the situation became more critical, Alcaraz restored his concentration and consistency, winning 6-3, 6-4, 2-6, 6-2. The No. 3 player in the ATP Rankings is playing for the first event since Madrid, having missed Rome due to an arm injury. Alcaraz dominated J.J. Wolf in his first match in Paris, losing only four games, but showed indications of rust against de Jong in the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head. Alcaraz is aiming for his third major title, having won the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023. His best clay-court Slam performance came in 2023 when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals. (ANI)
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