Sinner overcomes late wobble to win Paris opener

French Open 2025

Location: Roland Garros, May 25 – June

Jannik Sinner, the reigning world no. 1, defeated a late set snag to triumph over Arthur Rinderknech in straight sets.

Italian Sinner defeated French opponent 6-4, 6-3, 7-5 on Court Philippe Chatrier in his first Grand Slam contest since receiving a three-month doping ban.

However, the 23-year-old had to fight back from a double break down in the third set against a revived Rinderknech, which the scoreline suggested.

After Carlos Alcaraz ended his 26-game winning streak in the Italian Open final earlier this month, Sinner made a comeback.

First-round encounters are never simple, he said. “I’m very pleased with how I handled the situation,” he said.

He also made a few errors while directing the set, which helped me a lot. But all I wanted to do was adopt the ideal mindset and attitude.

In a service match between Rinderknech and Rinderknech, who had saved three early break points, Sinner was given the first set in an error-strewn service match. A backhand was planted into the net on Sinner’s first set point, sending the Italian on his way.

In the fourth game of the second set, he broke twice before surviving with just one point on the serve.

However, in the third set, Rinderknech, who had been buoyed by a divided crowd in his hometown, won the first four games to take command. This caused his game to temporarily collapse.

However, normality started to return as Sinner countered by stifling Rinderknech’s break points and sprang up the atmosphere on the showcase court.

He hardly gave his rival a second chance from there. Sinner went a breakup and sealed the match with a fierce serve that Rinderknech, 29, could not quite match.

In the second round, Sinner will face Richard Gasquet, a veteran Frenchman.

In his opening match, former world no. 10 player Gasquet defeated compatriot and fellow wildcard Terence Atmane to reach Roland Garros’ final tournament.

Sinner, who was eliminated from the semi-finals 12 months ago at the hands of eventual champion Alcaraz, won his third major title at the Australian Open in January, but he has yet to reach the final at Roland Garros.

After reaching a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) regarding his two positive drug tests last year, he accepted an immediate three-month ban in February.

American Fritz earlier fell to the German world number 47 Altmaier 7-5, 3-3, 6-1, in a final 16 game loss.

Fritz, 27, made it to the US Open final last year, losing to Sinner in straight sets, but his subpar form continued on Court Simonne Mathieu in 2025.

As a result, he will leave the top four, and Britain’s Jack Draper will move up a spot in the live rankings.

“I believe my playing is generally good. Simply put, I’m playing horrendous tennis on a lot of crucial points, “frested Fritz said.

I’m unsure of what’s happening because of all the pressure and crucial points. I’m trying to play the most ridiculous scenario possible.

With his ranking, Altmaier’s biggest career achievement was setting up a meeting with Vit Kopriva, a Czech player, in the 86th place.

The 26-year-old won the match in two hours and 41 minutes after breaking Fritz’s serve three times throughout the final six games.

In 2024, Fritz advanced to the French Open, but he has lost four of his seven clay matches this year.

Also on Monday, men’s defending champion Carlos Alcaraz defeated Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to make a calm recovery.

Casper Ruud, who is now two-time champion, breezened past Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2, while Holger Rune, who is now 10th seed, defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7 (4-7) 6-4, 6-3, 6-2.

Stefanos Tsitsipas, the finalist eliminated from Paris in 2021, defeated Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, respectively.