Jannik Sinner came back from one set down to beat Mackenzie McDonald 6-7 (6-8) 7-5 6-1 after 2 hours and a half in the early hours of Thursday morning at the Paris Rolex Masters in Paris Bercy.
Sinner did not convert his first break point in the seventh break point. Sinner earned the first break in the ninth game of the opening set to take a 5-4 lead. McDonald broke straight back at love to draw level to 5-5. McDonald won eight of the next nine points to hold serve for 6-5. Sinner held serve to love with his first ace to set up a tie-break. Sinner started the tie-break with an early mini-break. McDonald won four consecutive points with two mini-breaks to open up a 4-2 lead. Sinner pulled back on serve to draw level to 4-4. McDonald earned a set point at 6-5, as Sinner made a forehand volley error. McDonald earned his second set point with his fourth ace. Sinner hit a backhand volley on top of the net to hand McDonald the first set tie-break at 1.17 am.
Sinner rallied from 0-30 to hold his first service game for 1-0 at the start of the second set. Sinner did not convert two break points in the fourth game, but he broke serve on his first set point in the 12th game to force the match to the third set.
McDonald recovered from 0-30 down to 30-30 in the fourth game, but Sinner broke serve with a backhand passing shot. Sinner earned a second break in the sixth game after two double faults to race out to a 5-1 lead and served out the third set on his third match point.
Sinner won his 57th match of the season and his first in Paris Bercy after his defeats against Carlos Alcaraz in 2021 and Marc Andrea Huesler in 2022.
Sinner set up a third round match against Alex De Minaur on Thursday.
“I lost the first set in a bad way and I am still getting used to the conditions, but I am happy about the win and to be in the next round. It was tough going on court after midnight, but it was nice still to have some crowd watching. I am a little bit tired, because I had a good week in Vienna. It is never easy to adapt quickly to different conditions. It was not ideal for me to play so late, but I thank the audience, even those from home, who stayed up. I honestly don’t know if I will play the round of 16. We will see how I will feel tomorrow ”, said Sinner.
