Jannik Sinner’s quest to reclaim the world No. 1 ranking began in commanding fashion Wednesday as the Italian eased past Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-4, 6-2 in the second round of the Paris Masters – a title he must win to unseat Carlos Alcaraz at the top.
Sinner’s 65-week reign ended in September when Alcaraz defeated him in the U.S. Open final to capture his sixth Grand Slam title and reclaim the No. 1 spot. But Alcaraz’s early exit on Tuesday – a shock loss to unseeded Briton Cameron Norrie – reopened the door in their back-and-forth rivalry.
Relentless from the baseline, Sinner kept Bergs under pressure throughout, creating 11 break-point chances and converting three while never facing a single break point himself.
“I was very precise, and I also started off with a break straight away, which gives you a bit more confidence,” said Sinner, who is chasing his fifth title of the year and 23rd overall. “I’m very happy with how I served today.”
The 24-year-old clinched victory on his first match point and will face unseeded Francisco Cerundolo in the third round.
“I felt like mostly the movement was good,” said Sinner, who won an ATP 500 tournament in Vienna on Sunday despite battling cramps.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev joined Sinner in the third round by rallying from 3-1 down in the final set to beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-5.
The third-seeded German made a telling difference on his second serve, winning 78% of points compared with 42% for his opponent, who dropped serve four times. Zverev next plays 15th-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Elsewhere, ninth-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada rallied from a break down in the second set and 3-0 down in the third-set tiebreaker to beat Frenchman Alexandre Muller 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4).
Auger-Aliassime’s erratic performance featured 50 winners and 55 unforced errors as he maintained his chances of reaching the season-ending eight-player ATP Finals in Turin, Italy.
He next faces unseeded Daniel Altmaier, who beat eighth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-3, 7-5 to end the Norwegian’s Turin hopes. Seventh-seeded Lorenzo Musetti lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to fellow Italian Lorenzo Sonego, who next plays No. 11 Daniil Medvedev, the 2020 champion and 2021 runner-up.
Medvedev advanced via walkover after Grigor Dimitrov, last year’s runner-up, withdrew from their match with a shoulder injury.
Valentin Vacherot came out on top again in the battle of the cousins, beating Arthur Rinderknech 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4.
“It was very physical. Mentally, it was hard as well,” Vacherot said. “We were very tense; I think the crowd could see it.”
Just over two weeks ago, Vacherot defeated Rinderknech in the Shanghai Masters final, making a run from qualifying in China to win his first career title.
The 40th-ranked Monegasque will face Norrie next.
