Sinner Strides Into Quarter-finals, Simon Upsets Shapovalov
Jannik Sinner raced past Pierre-Hugues Herbert 6-3, 6-1 on Thursday at the bett1HULKS Championship to reach his third quarter-final of 2020.
The reigning Next Gen ATP Finals champion dominated return games, winning 78 per cent of his second-serve return points (18/23) to earn six service breaks. In his first tournament appearance since cracking the Top 50 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time on 12 October, Sinner has dropped just seven games to reach the quarter-finals in Cologne. The Italian claimed a 6-1, 6-2 victory against James Duckworth in the first round.
“In the beginning, it was tough for both [of us], trying to understand how each other plays. [There were] a lot of breaks of serve,” said Sinner. “[I was] trying to find the key on how to serve, especially on the break points, at 30-all… I think it was a quite solid performance today.”
[WATCH LIVE 2]Sinner is through to his second quarter-final this season on indoor hard courts. The 19-year-old also reached the last eight at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, beating David Goffin in the second round.
“I’ve never practised with [Pierre-Hugues], I’ve never played with him. He is changing every ball,” said Sinner in an on-court interview. “Knowing that he is a good doubles player, when he is approaching you have to [give] him a difficult ball.”
Sinner will meet Gilles Simon in the quarter-finals. World No. 46 Sinner is aiming to reach his second ATP Tour semi-final, having beaten Gael Monfils en route to the European Open semi-finals in Antwerp last year.