Jannik Sinner has every reason to celebrate in Bulgaria. © APA/getty / ELSA
Top favorite Jannik Sinner clearly won his opening match at the indoor tournament in Sofia (Bulgaria). He is therefore fully on course for his mission of defending his title.
29. September 2022
From: fop
Defending champion Sinner was number one in the round of 16 at the ATP 250 tournament in the Bulgarian capital. And like a number one, he also performed against Nuno Borges (ATP 93). The 21-year-old South Tyrolean defeated the Portuguese, who was four years his senior, 6:3, 6:4 in just under an hour and a half.
Sinner immediately pointed out who would be the master of the house today. He took the first service game from Borges, paving the way to winning the first set. With safe, well dosed shots and a very strong service, he never really let his opponent find his way into the match. That was also the case in the second round, in which he laid the foundation for a clear two-set win with a break when the score was 1:1.
“I felt really good.”
Jannik Sinner
“It wasn’t an easy game, but I felt really good,” summarized Sinner after the match. For him, Sofia is a very special place because “I celebrated great successes here, made my breakthrough. For the first time I can play in front of a full ranks, that makes everything even nicer.” For Sinner, this was indeed the tenth win in the tenth game in Sofia. There he won the last two tournament editions and celebrated his first ATP triumph in 2020.
Clear favorite in the next match as well
On his way to renewed tournament success, Sinner will now have to deal with the Australian Aleksandar Vukic (ATP 144) on Friday around 5.30 p.m. He defeated the Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco in three sets on Thursday. The only duel with Vukic so far was clearly won by Sinner in two sentences in January 2021.
South Tyrol’s second tennis ace, the Kalterer veteran Andreas Seppi, missed the leap into the main draw in Sofia.
