ATP Sofia, Jannik Sinner forced to retire

Sinner leaves late in third set due to an ankle injury

Saturday was one to forget for the two Italian tennis players involved in the semifinals of the ATP in Sofia, Bulgaria. After Lorenzo Musetti’s knockout against Switzerland’s Marc-Andrea Huesler, who won with a score of 7-6(5), 7-5, Jannik Sinner also had to raise the white flag in the semifinals against Denmark’s Holger Rune, due to an injury that struck him during the third set.

After winning the first fraction 7-5, Sinner suffered the return of the No. 31 ranking player, paying for a game lost on his own serve at 2-2 and closing out the second fraction 4-6. In the third set, the San Candido native stayed in the match until 2-3, before a bad fall caused severe ankle pain. Sinner still tried to play two more games, but although he remained tenaciously on the court, he was unable to recover in terms of scoring, preferring to save himself the very last phase of the match.

No Italian derby, then, on Bulgarian cement in the final: Huesler and Rune will be the contenders for the tournament.