Jannik Sinner had to sweat hard against Tomas Machac in the round of 16 at the Monte Carlo Masters but qualified for the quarterfinals of the tournament. The Italian registered a 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-3 win against the Czech.
In fact, the World No.2 had won his past 18 matches at Masters 1000 level without dropping a set but it was not to be the case on Thursday.
Sinner dropped his first set at the ATP Masters 1000 event since Shanghai in October.
“I think I can be happy,” Sinner said. “Not every day is the same. I was struggling a little bit. I was a bit tired. I hope that I can recover as much as I can for tomorrow. I try to do the best I can every match I play. The most important thing today was to try and get through somehow. I can play great tennis tomorrow hopefully. I just try to perform in the best possible way and today is a positive.”
Sinner said he felt great before the match but admitted he struggled to find the energy in the second set.
“I felt great before the match. In the second set I struggled a bit to find the right energy, but this can happen,” Sinner said. “I tried to push myself through, which I have done. Even when you don’t feel your best, you try to find ways and that was the case today and I am happy. The main priority is to recover.”
Sinner leads World No. 53 Machac 4-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The Italian will next take on Felix Auger Aliassime in the quarterfinal on Friday.
