Sinner defeats Moutet to reach French Open quarterfinals

Second seed Jannik Sinner overcame a slow start to advance to the French Open quarter-finals on Sunday with a 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-1 victory over local hope Corentin Moutet, keeping his world number one dream alive.

Sinner, the Australian Open champion, was in trouble in front of partisan fans on Court Philippe Chatrier after falling behind 5-0 in 23 minutes, but he managed to get on the board and avoid an embarrassing bagel.

"It was very tough for me. I think he played very well in the first set," said Sinner.

"I had some chances, but he played much better than me, so I had to adjust a little bit. He had an amazing run here at Roland Garros. The atmosphere as always was amazing."

"He plays differently to most of my opponents, so it was tough for me. He is also a lefty. You don't play so many times against left-handers, so I'm happy to be in the next round."

Moutet, attempting to become the first Frenchman to reach the Roland Garros last eight since Richard Gasquet in 2016, mixed up his game and hit some spectacular shots, including a sliced winner from deep, for a first set point that he squandered.

After dropping serve against the run of play, world number 79 Moutet rode a massive wave of support to win the first set when Sinner hit a long shot, before the two exchanged breaks at the start of the second.

Sinner, whose preparation for Roland Garros had been hampered by a hip injury and illness, returned to form from there, breaking for a 4-2 lead before levelling the match and tightening his grip by waltzing through the third set.

The Italian, who could become world number one for the first time if he makes it to the final, had to wait to serve at 2-1 because fans refused to stop a Mexican wave, but he went on to seal the victory, eliminating France's last remaining hope.

SportsLigue