Teenager Sinner knocks out 11th-seeded Goffin in French Open debut

PARIS (Reuters) – Italian teenager Jannik Sinner beat 11th seed David Goffin in a quick 7-5 6-0 6-3 victory on his French Open debut on Sunday to confirm his status as one of the most exciting talents in men's tennis.

The 19-year-old, who won the NextGen ATP Finals title last year, won his only previous meeting against Goffin in straight sets in the second round in Rotterdam this year.

But Goffin, who reached the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2016, would have fancied his chances against the 74th-ranked Sinner who, before Sunday, had just one Grand Slam victory to his name – at the Open d Australia this year.

Playing the first match under the new roof of the Philippe Chatrier court and the opening match of the tournament, Sinner showed that he belonged on the big stage.

“The first set was very close, it was like the key to being able to win the service games quite easily,” Sinner told reporters.

“At the beginning it wasn't easy. He was coming back well. I wasn't serving very well. But the balls here are very heavy. The court was heavy. It wasn't easy.”

The Italian exchanged a double break of serve with his Belgian opponent early in the match before securing the crucial third break to win the first set.

After that, it was all Sinner as his sizzling forehand began to generate more power and Goffin struggled to stay in rallies as the Italian won 11 straight games to move closer to victory.

“You never expect that,” Sinner said of his 11-game winning streak. “I don't think there was one key. Maybe he wasn't feeling very good on the pitch. I felt good. I was just trying to be focused.”

Sinner converted his second match point when his opponent sent a forehand wide and followed it with a subdued celebration, showing the same calm and composure he displayed during the two hours on court .

Goffin hit one more winner than Sinner but the Belgian's 16 additional unforced errors made the difference.

“I knew it was going to be a tough game. I know how he plays,” Goffin said, adding that he was struggling to get motivated amid the coronavirus pandemic.

“But even though he played well today, it obviously wasn’t a good game on my side.

“The most difficult thing for me is to be mentally fresh on the pitch and save energy to give everything on the pitch. It's just that I was a bit empty, no energy today 'today.'

Sinner will next meet French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi who beat Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2 6-4 4-6 6-4.

(Reporting by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; Editing by Ed Osmond)