Jannik Sinner completed his opening match at the French Open 2025 with a clear victory over Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech. With a 6:4, 6:3, 7:5 victory, the world number one underlined his title ambitions and showed an impressively stable performance.
Jannik Sinner dominated from the start
Sinner appeared on the Philippe-Chatrier court with visible confidence and dominated the action from the very first minute. In the first set, he capitalized on a break opportunity early on and controlled the rest of the match without allowing any major problems. Rinderknech, who had gone into the match as the underdog, was unable to find a solution to the Italian's powerful baseline game.
The picture continued in the second half. Sinner acted precisely, moved excellently and forced his opponent to make numerous mistakes by applying constant pressure. He also clearly won this set 6:3 and confirmed his role as favorite.
Short slump and strong reaction
It was only in the third set that Sinner briefly faltered. Rinderknech took advantage of a weaker phase in his opponent's game, took a 5:2 lead and sniffed a possible set win. However, Sinner remained calm, reduced his own mistakes and took the Frenchman's serve twice. He won five games in a row to turn the set around to 7:5 and end the match after 2 hours and 25 minutes.
The figures confirm the superiority of the number 1
Statistically, Sinner underpinned his victory with a strong service ratio and an efficient return game. He converted five out of eight break chances, while Rinderknech only made use of two of his seven opportunities. The Italian's discipline was particularly striking: only 18 unforced errors compared to 32 on the part of his opponent.
Sinner also proved his physical fitness in the longer rallies. After his injury-related break and subsequent three-month doping ban, he made an impressive return to the Grand Slam stage.
The next challenge is already in sight
Sinner will face Richard Gasquet in the second round. In view of his performance in the first match, the Italian is not only the clear favorite in this encounter, but also in the rest of the tournament.
Jannik Sinner has sent out a clear signal with his first step towards winning the title. The convincing victory against Rinderknech should further boost his self-confidence and consolidate his position as number one in the world.
