Jannik Sinner breaks record with Montreal quarter-final

World No.1 Jannik Sinner has become the first man since Novak Djokovic in 2015 to reach the quarter-finals or better in his first 10 events of the season.

The Italian did so by defeating Alejandro Tabilo in the round of 16 at the Canadian Open on Saturday afternoon, prevailing in a routine 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Chilean.

His win in Montreal also makes Sinner the first man to qualify for the year-end championships in Turin, with the 22-year-old on 6,400 points after beating Tabilo.

Despite his incredible consistency, Sinner still holds just the third line of betting ahead of the year’s final Grand Slam later this month.

Tennis bookmakers have him at +225 to win the US Open, behind Carlos Alcaraz (+137) and Djokovic (+187).

Sinner’s record-breaking year

This time last year, Sinner began to show signs that he would challenge for the world No.1 position.

Winning his first Masters 1000 in Toronto, he then went on to win dual ATP 500 titles in Beijing and Vienna, plus make the finals of the year-end championships.

That strong form continued this year, with a string of consistent results over the first eight months of the 2024 season.

From the 10 tournaments he has played this year, this is how Sinner has performed:

• Australian Open – winner (defeated Daniil Medvedev)
• Rotterdam Open – winner (defeated Alex de Minaur)
• Indian Wells Masters – semi-finals (lost to Alcaraz)
• Miami Masters – winner (defeated Grigor Dimitrov)
• Monte-Carlo Masters – semi-finals (lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas)
• Madrid Masters – quarter-finals (lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime)
• French Open – semi-finals (lost to Alcaraz)
• Halle Open – winner (defeated Hubert Hurkacz)
• Wimbledon – quarter-finals (lost to Medvedev)
• Montreal Masters – quarter-finals (plays Andrey Rublev)

Sinner is still alive in Canada, with a quarter-final against Rublev coming up later on Saturday.

The Russian is also celebrating a milestone of his own, with Rublev now making the quarter-finals or better in all nine Masters 1000 events.

Nishikori on fire in Montreal

Elsewhere in Canadian Open action, Japan’s Kei Nishikori is having a deep run for the first time in more than five years.

The 34-year-old has previously been ranked as high as No.4 in the world, but injuries have seen his ranking drop to No.576 currently.

However, wins over Alex Michelsen (3-6, 7-5, 6-4), eighth seed Tsitsipas (6-4, 6-4) and most recently Nuno Borges (6-3, 6-4) mean he is through to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final since May 2019.

Nishikori will play Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, who overcame Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Saturday, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 3-0 (ret.).

Leading sports bookmakers has the match close to even, with Arnaldi holding a slight edge in the betting odds, -138.89 to +110.

Sports news