Sinner continues flawless run in Paris after victory against Kotov 

maintained his perfect start at the clay-court major by defeating Pavel Kotov  6-4, 6-4, 6-4 for his third consecutive straight-sets win in Paris. Sinner produced a rock-solid all-around display to prevail in a two-hour, 27-minute encounter between two of the cleanest ball strikers on the ATP Tour.

A single break of serve in each set proved enough for Sinner to clinch his victory and extend his Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Kotov to 2-0 after he also defeated the World No. 56 in Madrid last month.

Sinner is competing for a double prize this fortnight in Roland Garros. As well as chasing his second major title after lifting the trophy at January’s Australian Open, the 22-year-old can guarantee his rise to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time by reaching the final in Paris. Even if he falls short of that goal, Sinner will still move into top spot on 10 June if Novak Djokovic does not reach the championship match.

Now 31-2 for the season, Sinner will take on Sebastian Ofner  or home favourite Corentin Moutet next in Paris.

Stefanos Tsitsipas wasted little time Friday when he displayed a squeaky-clean baseline performance en route to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 third-round victory against Zhang Zhizhen at Roland Garros.

The Greek freely moved around the court and tightly hugged the baseline, ripping the felt off the ball with first-strike aggression to continue his quest for a first major title.

Up next for the No. 9 player in the PIF ATP Rankings is Matteo Arnaldi, who upset sixth seed Andrey Rublev 7-6(6), 6-2, 6-4.