Peroni Nastro Azzuro Refresh: Sinner did his homework

The star student landed in Montréal 8 days ago to fine-tune his game and get his North American swing off on the right foot.

After letting his main rival Carlos Alcaraz bask in the limelight for the past two months, he’s determined to prove he’s the rightful No.1.

His match against Borna Coric may not have been the best he’s ever played, but the beauty and consistency of his shots were more than enough to earn him a 6-2, 6-4 win in 96 minutes.

READ: After Disappointing Olympics, Nishikori upsets an upset Tsitsipas

Over on Rogers Court, Casper Ruud (6) had a bit of a scare when he lost the second set to James Duckworth, but he got his game together to close things out 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

And Holger Rune marches on in Montréal. He spent just 66 minutes taking down 2022 NBO champion Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain (6-1, 6-3).

Zverev and Dimitrov breeze into the next round

This afternoon, Alexander Zverev (2) showed everyone at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers that he’s a fierce contender for the title in Montreal. Against Jordan Thompson of Australia, he was merciless en route to an easy 6-1, 6-1 win. He spent 63 minutes racking up 52 points (25 for Thompson) and 20 winners (4 for Thompson) to move into round three.

“I wanted to be combative, and that’s what I did,” he explained.

Grigor Dimitrov (7) of Bulgaria was even more efficient, annihilating Australian qualifier Rinky Hijikata in 55 minutes (6-1, 6-0).

Against Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, Andrey Rublev (5) had to bounce back from one break down in the first set before he found his groove and closed things out after 85 minutes of play (7-6(5), 6-2).

Two headliners weren’t as fortunate. Tommy Paul (10) of the US suffered a surprise three-set loss to his countryman Brandon Nakashima (6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-1), and Ugo Humbert of France battled for nearly three hours (2:48) but ultimately lost to Nuno Borges of Portugal (3-6, 7-6 (2), 7-6 (4)).

Medvedev and Tsitsipas take their leaves

Meanwhile, Daniil Medvedev (3) and Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) were both toppled in matches well within their reach.

Medvedev, who’s by far the most successful of the two on the hard courts, was ousted by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (6-4, 1-6, 6-2) in just under two hours (1:55). In their roller-coaster match, the former US Open champion played only one solid set, which isn’t enough to move through a Masters 1000. He got back on track after a tough fight in the first set but couldn’t keep the momentum going in the third. Unable to count on his speed, he couldn’t find a way to outsmart the methodical Spaniard, whose reflexes were sharper than a knife, or even return his serves.

Daniil Medvedev wasn’t the only player who packed up early. Stefanos Tsitsipas suffered the wrath of Kei Nishikori (6-4, 6-4), whose two breaks versus only one for the Greek titan made the difference.

Incidentally, the statistics favoured Tsitsipas. He hit 9 aces and 21 winners compared to 1 ace and 13 winners for his opponent and made fewer unforced errors. Sometimes clumsy on a hard court, Tsitsipas lacked accuracy when it mattered most, while Nishikori stayed as consistent as a metronome.

Photo: Sarah-Jäde Champagne