Sinner breeze past Eubanks at Roland Garros opener in Paris

Jannik Sinner eased past Christopher Eubanks 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 in the first round at the clay-court major in Paris on Monday.

The Italian on his first competitive match after a three-week injury layoff due to a right hip injury.

Sinner struck the ball cleanly and moved well throughout his two-hour, nine-minute victory to set a second-round clash at Roland Garros with home favourite Richard Gasquet in Paris.

“Honestly, I’m just happy to be back on court,” said Sinner in his on-court interview. “I was injured, so I’m very happy to be back here. It’s a very special tournament for me. It’s where I reached the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam for the first time, so I have some great memories. The last years I didn’t play my best, so I’m just trying to go day by day, building every day, and I’m just happy about today’s performance.”

With Monday’s triumph, Sinner improved to 29-2 for the season. He began 2024 by lifting his maiden Grand Slam trophy at the Australian Open, and the 22-year-old has since also won ATP Tour titles in Rotterdam and Miami.

Sinner withdrew before his quarter-final in Madrid in late April due to his hip injury, and he later missed his home ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome for the same reason. The No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings was happy with how his body had held up during his return to competitive action.

“The hip is good. I’m very happy,” said Sinner. “I’m glad that my team and myself worked very hard to be on court as soon as possible. Obviously without my team, it is not possible. For sure, my general shape is not at 100 per cent yet, so we try to build every day.”

Sinner has now strengthened his chances of rising to World No. 1 for the first time after Roland Garros after beating Churs Eubanks to reach second round. Current incumbent Novak Djokovic now needs to reach the championship match in Paris to give himself a chance of retaining top spot ahead of the Italian on 10 June.