Jannik Sinner’s Thrilling Roland Garros 2024 Comeback Against Corentin Moutet

The defending champion of the Australian Open felt that was enough entertainment for one evening after losing the opening set to the home team and fiercely fought his way into the quarterfinals.

The fans on a boisterous Court Philippe Chatrier sounded equally thrilled and relieved when world No. 2 Jannik Sinner found himself down 5-0 in the first set against Corentin Moutet, a point away from dropping the opening set in startling fashion.

In the late evening in Paris, home favorite Moutet had little over 15 minutes to seize an unexpected 4-0 lead against the Italian who was clearly out of sorts. Sinner had a hip problem going into the competition, but he hadn’t been put to the test as much since he had been winning matches against Richard Gasquet, Christopher Eubanks, and Pavel Kotov. Was there going to be a rift, or even just a tiny turn toward drama?

Every previous singles match, starting with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 demolition of Anastasia Potapova to open the fourth round on Sunday, had ended with the higher-ranked player winning handily. The final match of the day was Carlos Alcaraz, who defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3, 6-1.

Also Read: Iga Swiatek Dominates Anastasia Potapova with Double Bagel in 40 Minutes at Roland Garros

The crowd at Roland Garros seemed to want nothing more from the game than to watch their countryman Moutet, ranked 79th, play some fantastic tennis. It’s a stark contrast to yesterday’s drawn-out action, which, to the apparent delight of tournament organizers already burdened by a rain-affected schedule, saw world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti end their five-set, third-round match after 3 a.m.

However, the defending Australian Open champion felt that was enough fun for one evening after losing the opening set 6-2. Sinner kept his opponent out of the points by tightening up his first-serve percentage, which went from 59% in the first set to an intimidating 78% in the fourth. This kept the Chatrier fans largely quiet.

The Italian completed his 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, and 6-1 comeback by storming through the next three sets and eliminating the lone break point he encountered. This advancement put him in the quarterfinals. Next up for him is No. 10 seed Grigor Dimitrov, who on Court Suzanne Lenglen defeated No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3).

For me, it was really difficult. Sinner remarked following the game, “I think he played very, very well in the first set.” “I had a few opportunities, but I had to modify a little bit because he played much better than I did. Here at Roland Garros, he had an incredible run. As always, the atmosphere was fantastic.

It was difficult for me because he plays differently than the majority of my opponents. In addition, he is left-handed. You don’t play against left-handers very frequently.