Reuters
Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during his fourth round match against Sebastian Korda of the U.S. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
Reuters
Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during his fourth round match against Sebastian Korda of the U.S. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
Italian teenager, Jannik Sinner, is about to play the biggest match of his career at the French Open 2020. Sinner will face the 12-time Roland Garros champion, Rafael Nadal, in the quarterfinals inside Philippe Chatrier. Sinner became the first player to reach the Roland Garros quarterfinals on his tournament debut since Nadal in 2005.
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The 19-year-old produced a scintillating performance to oust World No.7, Alexander Zverev, in the fourth-round. Sinner hammered 39 winners, almost double to Zverev’s 20, and converted five of the six breakpoint opportunities.
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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – Italy’s Jannik Sinner celebrates winning his fourth round match against Germany’s Alexander Zverev REUTERS/Charles Platiau
During the post-match conference, a journalist asked Sinner about the ultimate challenge of facing Rafael Nadal and the way he plans to deal with it. The Italian hailed Nadal’s astonishing record at the French Open and claimed it will be incredibly tough to beat him.
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“Playing against Rafa here in Roland Garros is not the easiest thing for sure. I think the record he has here, I think nobody can beat that. He is super confident here,” said Sinner.
Rafael Nadal inching closer to French Open title
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Tennis – French Open – Roland Garros, Paris, France – Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during his fourth round match against Sebastian Korda of the U.S. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Sinner acknowledged that he will have to go to the court with a positive attitude to have any chance against the greatest clay-court player of all time.
“It’s going to be a difficult match for sure. It’s always to go on court with the right attitude, trying to play your best tennis, which I have to do if I want to play at the same level as he plays,” added Sinner.
The duo will play against each other for the very first time for a place in the semifinals of the French Open. Notably, Sinner is the youngest Grand Slam quarterfinalist since Novak Djokovic in 2006.
Meanwhile, Nadal hasn’t lost a set en route to the quarterfinal stage and is three matches away from equalling Roger Federer‘s Grand Slam tally of 20 majors.
