Jannik Sinner beats Zizou Bergs at Paris Masters to start battle for world number one
PARIS — Jannik Sinner got off to a good start in his bid to regain world No. 1 on Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Zizou Bergs in the second round of the Paris Masters, a match the Italian needed to win to unseat Carlos Alcaraz from the top spot.
Sinner’s 65-week reign as world number one ended in September when Alcaraz beat Sinner in the US Open final to claim his sixth Grand Slam title and top spot. But Alcaraz lost to unseeded Cameron Norrie in the second round in Paris on Tuesday, opening the door for Sinner in their tug-of-war.
Sinner kept the pressure on Burgess, creating 11 break points and converting three of them, while not conceding a break point of his own.
“I’m very precise and I rest right away as soon as I start, which gives you more confidence,” said Sinner, who is chasing his fifth championship and overall title this year. “I’m very pleased with the service today.”
The 24-year-old Sinner sealed victory on the first match point and faced unseeded Francisco Cerundolo in the third round.
“I feel mainly the movement (good),” said the man who won the ATP 500 tournament in Vienna on Sunday despite cramps.
Defending champion Alexander Zverev, who joined Sinner in the third round, fought back from 3-1 down in the final to beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-7 (5), 6-1, 7-5.
The third-seeded German made a notable difference on his second serve, winning 78% of his points compared to just 42% of his opponent, who lost his serve four times. Zverev will next face No. 15 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Elsewhere, Canadian ninth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime fought back from a break in the second set and a 0-3 deficit in the third set tie-break to beat France’s Alexander Muller 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4).
Auger-Aliassime’s inconsistent performance, which combined with 50 winners and 55 unforced errors, helped him preserve his chances of reaching the season-ending 8-man ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. He will next face unseeded Daniel Altmaier, who beat eighth seed Kaspar Ruud 6-3, 7-5 to end the Norwegian’s chances in Turin.
No. 11 Daniil Medvedev advanced easily after 2023 tournament runner-up Grigor Dimitrov withdrew with a shoulder injury.
Valentin Vacherot repeated as champion in the Battle of Cousins, defeating Arthur Rinderknech 6-7 (9), 6-3, 6-4.
“It’s very difficult physically. It’s very difficult mentally,” Vaccello said. “We were very nervous and I think the audience could see that.”
Vaccello won his first career tournament title just over two weeks ago, defeating Lindeknecht in the Shanghai Masters final.
Vaccello from Monaco, ranked 40th, will play Nouri next.
