Jannik Sinner overcame evident discomfort to advance to the last eight of the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday, beating the wildly erratic Tomas Machac, 6-1, 6-7 (3/7), 6-3.
Sinner galloped through the first set but slowed in the second, allowing Machac to hit his way back into the match.
Sweeping aside all before him 🦊
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After completing the Sunshine Double @janniksin digs deep to tally 14 wins in a row!@ROLEXMCMASTERS | #RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/608WU2njci
"I was struggling a little bit, was a bit tired," Sinner said. "Most important (thing) today was trying to get through somehow.
"I felt great before the match, in the second set I struggled a bit with trying to find the right energy. This can happen. I tried to push myself through which I've done."
Machac squandered two set points on serve at 5-4 in the second but then romped through the tie-break.
That ended Sinner's record streak of 36 straight sets in 1000-level events but he stayed cool to stretch his run of Masters wins to 19.
ANOTHER run keeps rising 🆙📈@janniksin extends his Masters 1000 winning streak to 19 🔜 quarter-finals!@ROLEXMCMASTERS | #RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/Vf6UZUbh0a
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Even with his opponent struggling, the Czech kept flailing for winners, frequently missing with the court wide open.
He handed Sinner the third-set initiative when wild hitting handed the Italian a break to love in the third game.
Even though Sinner frequently flexed and touched his back during the second set, it was Machac, a right-hander, who called a medical time-out, for treatment to his left arm, while 3-2 down in the third.
Sinner then held serve twice before breaking to love to wrap up victory in two hours and one minute.
"I hope I can recover as much as I can for tomorrow," said the Italian.
His quarterfinal opponent, sixth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, needed to expend less energy to advance. The Canadian was leading Casper Ruud 7-5, 2-2 when the Norwegian retired.
'CONFIDENT AND FOCUSED'
Earlier, 19-year-old Joao Fonseca reached the quarterfinals of a Masters 1000 event for the first time when he strode to a convincing 6-3, 6-2 win over Matteo Berrettini.
Fonseca, who is making his first appearance in Monte Carlo, produced some superb tennis to see off an opponent who had thrashed Daniil Medvedev 6-0, 6-0 in the second round.
A Fonseca master class 🙌
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Joao Fonseca defeats Berrettini in straight sets to make the biggest ATP Tour QF of his career 💪@ROLEXMCMASTERS | #RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/ULKXtX3amJ
The teenager is the youngest man to reach this stage in Monte Carlo since Rafael Nadal and Richard Gasquet in 2005 and is the first Brazilian to reach a Masters quarterfinal since Thomaz Bellucci in Madrid in 2011.
He is the second man born in 2006 to reach the quarterfinals at a 1000-level event, after Spaniard Martin Landaluce, who reached the last eight in Miami in March.
"It is super special. I was looking for this result for a long time," Fonseca said on court.
"Of course I want more. I am very confident and focused. I was very happy with the way I fought today. From the beginning, putting a lot of pressure.
"Playing huge return games and very good serve games. I was putting a lot of pressure and that helps you stay more calm during the match."
The Brazilian's last-eight opponent will be world No 3 Alexander Zverev.
"I think clay is his best surface," Zverev said of Fonseca.
"I am excited to play him for the first time. He is a young upcoming talent and I think we will play each other a lot more in the next couple of years."
Zverev, a two-time semifinalist at the tournament, despatched Zizou Bergs 6-2, 7-5.
Racing into the Elite 🎱@AlexZverev returns to the Monte-Carlo QF for the first time since 2022 👉 6-2, 7-5 over Bergs@ROLEXMCMASTERS | #RolexMonteCarloMasters pic.twitter.com/qQlZ4krXeJ
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"Still far from the level I played in the US, but this is my first clay tournament," said Zverev.