What a start to the match that was between the French Qualifier Terence Atmane and the defending Champion Jannik Sinner in the first semi-finals at Cincinnati in Ohio this afternoon.
Serve for serve from the very word go. Neither of them was taken to deuce in the first set till it went into a tie-break. Only two points went for more than a 9-shot rally, each winning one point.!
Suddenly, the first double fault of the match came from Atmane in his very first serve in the breaker. That was so unfortunate for the young Frenchman. It was proven to be very costly for him as the experienced Sinner upped his ante even further from there to take it comfortably losing only four points.
One thought there could be a slight momentum change as Jannik’s first service game in the second set went to four deuces but the defending Champion was so tenacious enough not to let lose. The 4-time Slam winner didn’t have to look back from there as he went on to celebrate his 24th Birthday with a comfortable win.
That said, Atmane played very well till the last set was played on his debut tournament in Cincinnati. He was able to win the hearts of many tennis fans in the world with his performance here💕👌
Rising from No.136 in ATP rankings at the start of a Masters event to No.69 by the time he lost as a 23-year-old is indeed a REMARKABLE achievement💪 Hope he gets to play in the Main Draw of the US Open starting on 25th August. Wish him Good Luck🙏
Congratulations to Jannik and Wish him a very Happy Birthday🌹👏👏