Sinner surges in Montreal opener

Top seed Jannik Sinner began his title defence in dominant fashion Thursday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers. Competing in his first singles match 30 days on from his Wimbledon quarter-final run, the Italian raced past Croatian Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4 in Montreal.

Sinner produced high-quality ballstriking and showed no signs of rust once he found his rhythm in the early stages. The 22-year-old, who missed the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis, dropped just four points behind his first serve in what was his first hard-court match since winning the Miami title in March.

“I’ve been here for a little bit so I’m maybe a bit more used to the conditions, but still, I’m very happy about the performance,” Sinner said. “It was a very tough match. Even if you watched the score, it felt closer for sure. I had to save a break point in the second set and if he makes that one it could potentially change the match. It was a very good mindset today and I’ll try to keep going.”

The 14-time tour-level titlist honed in on deep returning to pressure Coric early in rallies. Sinner created 11 break chances, converting three of them, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

"Today I felt like I was hitting the ball quite cleanly," said Sinner, who is in the doubles quarter-finals alongside Jack Draper. "It’s very tough to play here, it’s a bit breezy and windy and the ball flies a bit, so we try to get better day by day. Today was for sure a very positive day, so let’s see what’s coming."

Sinner's title run last year at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event marked his first trophy at that level. Turning 23 next week, Sinner has since soared to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings. He boasts a 43-4 season record and leads the ATP Tour in hard-court wins (23) this year.

Aiming for his fifth title of the season, Sinner meets 15th seed Alejandro Tabilo in the Round of 16. The Canadian-born Chilean ousted Lorenzo Sonego 6-4, 6-2. It will mark Sinner's first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Tabilo, who in Rome upset Novak Djokovic for his first win against a World No. 1.