Jannik Sinner's signature finish: Bagel seals hard-fought win over Atmane at China Open

Jannik Sinner claimed a hard-fought victory over Terence Atmane with a score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-0, in a match that took more effort than the World No. 2 expected. The Italian had debuted with an imposing victory over Marin Čilić on Thursday, and was meeting Atmane for the second time in just over a month.

The Frenchman was one of the surprises of the North American swing, having reached the semifinals of the Cincinnati Open—his first Masters 1000 semifinal—where he gave Sinner a good battle but was ultimately eliminated by the Italian star's power.

This time at the China Open, Atmane managed to put up a good fight against Sinner—even taking a set in a tense moment during the second. However, he couldn't maintain the level, and Sinner ended up sealing the victory with a bagel included in the third set, guaranteeing his passage to the quarterfinals.

Sinner overcomes early pressure to clinch opening set

From the first set, Sinner took control of the match, securing a break in the third game that gave him the advantage. Atmane quickly responded on the return and created several break opportunities, but Sinner managed to overcome them without major inconvenience, holding his serve. Around 5-3, Sinner had a couple of chances for a double break—and the set—but failed to convert them. Regardless, he didn't falter on his serve and closed out the set just as Atmane seemed closer to a recovery, having wasted three more break points in his favor.

Atmane breaks Sinner late to force decisive set

The second set was marked by errors from both sides, with inconsistency on both players' serves. After both defended their first service games to love, a peculiar stretch followed when Sinner secured a break to love, and Atmane immediately responded with a break to love. It didn't end there, as two more consecutive breaks followed without either player winning points on their serve, bringing the score level at 3-3.

The tension was palpable, and Atmane was the first to defend his serve to take the lead. With the score at 6-5 in the Frenchman's favor, Sinner felt the pressure of the moment, and this time Atmane seized his opportunity, capitalizing on the break and taking the second set 7-5.

Sinner delivers bagel in decisive Set to secure quarterfinal spot

However, the third set was played practically on one side, with a Sinner who quickly took the lead in the first game and would not let the victory escape him. The Italian stepped on the gas in a nearly perfect set, where he won 67% of his service points and 76% of return points, while converting 3/6 break points.

The four-time major champion left no doubt about his level, delivering a bagel to close out the victory 6-4, 5-7, 6-0 after two hours and 22 minutes. The Italian earned a place in the quarterfinals, where he will face Hungary's Fábián Marozsán.

Match Statistics Sinner vs. Atmane