Roland Garros, Jannik Sinner doesn't betray on debut: Tabur goes down

Jannik Sinner wins his debut match at Roland Garros on authority against French wild card and world number 171 Clement Tabur. The outclassman from Sesto Pusteria, on his 30th consecutive victory, imposed himself on the transalpine with the scores of 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and ten minutes of the match, qualifying for the second round of the Paris Slam: his next opponent will be Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Jannik Sinner starts very strong right away and immediately snatches the break from the Frenchman in the first game of the match: the message from the Azzurro is clear, he wants to finish as soon as possible to save his energy for the long two weeks ahead. The South Tyrolean champion is impregnable on serve, where he experiments with several variations leaving no chance for the transalpine, and relentless in response: he gets the second break in the fifth game, and the third in the seventh. Tabur struggles to withstand the pace and pressure imposed by the world number one and surrenders 6-1 the first set.

In the second set, the home favorite starts more determined and grows in serve, tearing the applause of the audience. But Sinner remains untouchable on serve, and in the fourth game he hits the break again taking the lead after an error by the Frenchman. That’s all it takes: the Azure wins 6-3 in the second set.

Tabur gets enterprising at the beginning of the third set and tries to undermine Sinner at the serve forcing him to the advantages, but then pays hard for his effort by conceding a break in the third game, which brings the world number one ahead. Despite a slight drop on serve Jannik managed without losing the lead and in the final game bent the proud resistance of the Frenchman, who nullified three match points but then surrendered 6-4. Before the last game, the South Tyrolean requires the intervention of the physiotherapist to fix a patch on his foot (most likely a blister).

For Sinner, the Paris tournament is a date with history: Roland Garros is the only Slam still missing from his trophy case, after triumphs at the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon. Winning in France would mean completing an extraordinary collection that also includes all nine Masters 1000s, the ATP Finals and the Davis Cup-a feat achieved, among the great champions of the past, by only Novak Djokovic.