Sinner Kicks Off National Bank Open Title Defense with Victory

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner began his title defense at the National Bank Open with a straight-set victory over Borna Coric. Despite having missed the Olympics due to tonsillitis, Sinner maintains his momentum from his first Grand Slam win. The tournament also saw top players like Zverev advancing and rain disrupting play.

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner began his National Bank Open title defense with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Borna Coric in the second round on Thursday.

Sinner had missed the Olympics due to tonsillitis following a quarterfinal loss to Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon. However, he recently triumphed over Medvedev in the Australian Open to claim his first Grand Slam title in January. 'Very happy and excited to go back on court,' Sinner remarked. 'It was a tough match, but I served well in important moments and returned well when I broke him, so a very positive start.'

Second-seeded Alexander Zverev also dominated, routing Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-1 for his 48th match victory of the year. The night session was disrupted by rain, postponing matches including those of fourth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz and the all-American clash between Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda. The day also saw third-seeded Daniil Medvedev and eighth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas eliminated from the tournament. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina defeated Medvedev 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, while Kei Nishikori overcame Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4. Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev advanced with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 win over Tomas Martin Etcheverry, and sixth-seeded Casper Ruud outlasted James Duckworth 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

(With inputs from agencies.)