Jannik Sinner earned his first Major win as a Major champion, beating Chris Eubanks in the first round at Roland Garros. Jannik played his first encounter after withdrawing from the Madrid Masters due to a hip injury. Not willing to risk anything, the Italian skipped the home Rome Masters and worked hard on his comeback.
Jannik was happy about his performance against Chris, beating him 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours and nine minutes and notching his eighth consecutive Major victory. World no. 2 revealed his hip felt fine, causing him no issues. Despite not feeling 100%, Jannik expressed gratitude for coming to Paris and competing, praising his team and their effort to help him overcome an injury.
The Italian has an extra motive in Paris, having a massive chance to become world no. 1 for the first time and dethrone Novak Djokovic. Sinner outplayed Eubanks in the pivotal moments, defending nine out of ten break points and mounting the pressure on his opponent.
Chris struggled behind the initial shot, spraying nine double faults and dropping almost half of the points in his games. Jannik seized five out of ten break points, controlling the pace and moving into the second round.
The American suffered only two breaks in sets two and three, but it was enough to propel the Italian through. They completed the opening two sets before resuming with a roof above Court Suzanne-Lenglen due to rain. Sinner landed 33 winners and 24 unforced errors, welcoming 42 mistakes from his rival.
Eubanks stayed in touch in the mid-range exchanges, and world no. 2 made the difference in the crucial rallies up to four strokes. Chris held after a deuce in the first game of the encounter after firing up his forehand, and Jannik leveled the score at 1-1 with a hold at love in the next one.
The Italian stepped in on the return in the third game and created two break points with a drop shot winner.
