Sinner's No 1 bid starts with 2nd-round win at Paris Masters

PARIS — Jannik Sinner's bid to reclaim the No 1 ranking got off to a good start Wednesday with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Zizou Bergs in the second round of the Paris Masters, which the Italian needs to win to knock Carlos Alcaraz off the top spot.

Sinner's 65-week reign as No 1 ended in September, when Alcaraz won the US Open final against him for his sixth major title and the top spot. But Alcaraz lost in Paris on Tuesday in the second round to unseeded Cameron Norrie, opening the door for Sinner in their seesaw rivalry.

Sinner had Bergs under constant pressure, forging 11 break-point chances and converting three, while not conceding a break point of his own.

"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 a fifth title of the year and 23rd overall. "I'm very happy how I served today."

The 24-year-old Sinner clinched victory on his first match point and will play 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 having 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 percent of points compared to 42 percent for his opponent, who dropped his 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 in a 5-7, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) win over Frenchman Alexandre Muller.

Auger-Aliassime's erratic performance combined 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 chances. 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 had a walkover after Grigor Dimitrov — the 2023 tournament runner-up — pulled out of their match with a shoulder injury.

The 34-year-old Bulgarian's return from a pectoral injury, which forced him to retire when leading eventual champion Sinner two sets to love in the fourth round at Wimbledon in July, unfortunately lasted only one match before his latest fitness setback.

Family affair

Valentin Vacherot came out on top again in the battle of the cousins as he beat 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."

A little more than two weeks ago, Vacherot won the Shanghai Masters final against Rinderknech, making a run from qualifying in China to win his first career tournament.

The 40th-ranked Vacherot, who is from Monaco, plays Norrie next.

A bad day for the host country was compounded when the last hometown favorite standing, Corentin Moutet, went down in straight sets to fellow maverick, the fiery Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.

Afterwards on-court, Bublik quipped that the local-born Moutet would at least not have far to go home now that he was eliminated.

"I don't think it was personal," Moutet said. "Some people talk, some people don't. I guess he's part of the first category.

"He loves to verbally clash with people."

Russian 10th seed Karen Khachanov ground out a victory over Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca 6-1,3-6, 6-3 and will meet Australian sixth seed Alex de Minaur in the round of 16 on Thursday.

Agencies via Xinhua