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Jannik Sinner continued his winning form in Rotterdam, securing a 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 win over Gael Monfils to extend his streak to nine matches and enter the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 event.
Sinner, the top seed at this year’s tournament, won over several new fans after a video of his adorable interaction with a young boy made its way to social media.
In the short 26-second clip, the reigning Australian Open champion can be seen signing an autograph for the young fan and interacting with him in Italian. He then took photographs with the child all while sporting a big smile.
The young boy was visibly thrilled while posing for pictures. The brief interaction ended with Sinner and the child’s guardian exchanging greetings in Italian.
Watch the clip here:
"These kinds of matches, they help you a lot" - Jannik Sinner after beating Gael Monfils at Rotterdam
Jannik Sinner had to toil hard for his win over Gael Monfils, overcoming a second-set stumble to prevail in three identical sets.
Reflecting on the contest, Sinner told ATPTour.com that these topsy-turvy matches help players a lot mentally. The Italian now believes that he can still win matches on days when he does not bring his best tennis to the court.
“It was one shaky game of mine in the second set and things changed so fast,” Jannik Sinner said. “I still believe that these kinds of matches, they help you a lot, especially on the mental part. When you don’t play your best tennis and you still try somehow to find the way to win."
He went on to heap praise on his opponent, saying Monfils never makes it easy for his opponents and dubbed him an incredible "showman".
“Against him, it is never easy, I have the feeling we know each other a little bit better now, and he changed some things, as I do, and today went my way,” he added.
“I think he is an incredible showman,” he continued. “All the crowd and the people, they love him. I think that’s what this sport needs. I wish that he will keep going as long as possible and hopefully, I can share the court with him as many times as possible, because he is such an amazing player.”
Sinner will take on Milos Raonic in the Rotterdam quarterfinals. The Canadian scored an upset over Alexander Bublik in his last match.
