Sinner remains perfect against Italians, topping Berrettini in Toronto

Nine up, nine down. Jannik Sinner has never lost to a compatriot on the ATP Tour and he continued his run of domination by handing Matteo Berrettini a 6-4 6-3 loss on Wednesday at the National Bank Open in Toronto.

Sinner fought off all seven break points he faced in the opening set, reaches the round of 16 in Canada for the first time and improves to 38-11 on the season.

Smooth sailing ⛵@janniksin takes the battle of the Italians 6-4 6-3!#NBO23 pic.twitter.com/5UxUrQNqoN

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 9, 2023

“It was a very tough match, first of all, playing against Matteo – we know each other very well. I just tried to somehow play my best tennis but it’s tough because there is not a lot of rhythm, he serves so well, and every break point in each service game is important. I managed to win, especially in the first set, these kinds of moments.

“The second set was 6-3, but I was under a lot of pressure, a lot of times 0-30, so I’m very happy, it was not an easy first match.”

Sinner, ranked No 8, will face the winner of the match between Australian qualifier Max Purcell and Andy Murray next.

9 – Jannik Sinner is now 9-0 against Italian opposition, becoming the first Italian in the Open Era to go 100% from his first nine ATP matches against compatriots, surpassing Adriano Panatta and Paolo Cane's 8-1 records. Benchmark.#NBO23 | @NBOtoronto @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/8pqz7oku7U

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) August 9, 2023

Domination of Italians? No reason

Sinner quickly dismissed the notion that he puts extra value in defeating his compatriots, and instead turned his answer into an impassioned public service announcement for Italian tennis.

“No there is no reason, I just try to play in my mind as if it is a normal match,” Sinner said of his 9-0 record against compatriots. “I don’t think about nationality, and obviously it’s great to see, and hopefully we can see many more Italian players coming through. We have a lot of potential in Italy. We have a lot of tournaments, a lot of good academies and a lot of good coaches, so there is a reason why many Italian players are good at tennis – let’s see in the future how it goes.”

Also perfect in opening rounds…

Sinner maintained his consistency in opening round matches in 2023, improving to 14-0 in them.

[7] @janniksin improves to 14-0 in opening round matches this season and saves all 7 break pts in 6-4 6-3 victory over countryman Berrettini @NBOtoronto. #Sinner is 9-0 lifetime against fellow Italians and 15-4 this season in #ATPMasters1000 tournaments.

— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) August 9, 2023

In the previous round of the Rogers Cup, Berrettini, ranked No 38, won against Frenchman Gregoire Barrere (6-4, 6-3).

Toronto Masters, other second-round results (Aviva Centre, hard, USD 6.600.000, most recent results first):

• Marcos Giron vs. Holger Rune
• Sebastian Korda vs. Aleksandar Vukic
• Tommy Paul vs. Francisco Cerundolo
• Carlos Alcaraz vs. Ben Shelton
• Max Purcell vs. Andy Murray: wednesday
• Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Alexander Zverev (13): 6-1, 6-2
• Alex De Minaur beat Gabriel Diallo (WC): 6-4, 7-5
• Gael Monfils beat Stefanos Tsitsipas (4): 6-4, 6-3
• Daniil Medvedev (2) beat Matteo Arnaldi (Q): 6-2, 7-5
• Lorenzo Musetti (16) beat Thanasi Kokkinakis (Q): 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
• Hubert Hurkacz (15) beat Miomir Kecmanovic: 5-7, 6-3, 6-0
• Milos Raonic (WC) beat Taro Daniel (Q): 6-4, 6-3
• Taylor Fritz (8) beat Ugo Humbert: 7-6 (7), 3-6, 6-3
• Mackenzie McDonald beat Andrey Rublev (6): 6-4, 6-3
• Casper Ruud (3) beat Jiri Lehecka: 7-6 (6), 6-4

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