Jannik Sinner is through to the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters after defeating Tomas Machac earlier today.

The path wasn’t easy, though. The former world number one lost his 37-set Masters 1000 streak during the match.

Despite that, he won’t be too bothered. The win puts him just a few steps from the final and offers him a chance to overtake Carlos Alcaraz for the world number one ranking.

Still, there are a few issues to address, especially considering what Sinner had to say after the match ended.

Jannik Sinner reflects on what made things tough against Tomas Machac

Sitting down for a court-side interview with Sky Sports after the match, Sinner said: “I think I can be happy, not every day is the same, I was struggling a little bit, I was a bit tired, so, I hope I can recover as much as I can for tomorrow, but look, I try to do my best in every match I play. Most importantly today was trying to get through somehow.

“I know every day can change a lot. Hopefully tomorrow I can play amazing tennis. But yeah, look, just try to perform in the best possible way and today was still very positive.”

Speaking about his fitness and energy levels during the contest, he continued: “I felt great before the match and then in the second set struggling a little bit with trying to find the right energy but this can happen. Try to push myself through which also what have done so even when you don’t feel the best trying to find ways and that’s been the case today.”

Turning attention towards his quarter-final clash with Felix Auger-Aliassime he added: “Happy but main priority is recover then hopefully be ready for tomorrow it’s gonna be another tough match felix is playing great especially on this surface here on clay so i’m happy we’ll see how it goes.”

But that will only happen if Sinner has a stronger tournament than Alcaraz in Monte Carlo.

Jamie Murray comments on Sinner’s struggles during Monte Carlo quarter-final

Jannik Sinner was up against it at times in his Monte Carlo quarter-final clash, and Jamie Murray, watching from the commentary box, didn’t hesitate to share his thoughts on what he saw as a concerning moment for the Italian.

“He recovered well from that big drop off in the second set, very strong third set for him, very dominant on his own serve,” Murray observed. “Machac, I don’t really know what to say, strange performance, strange finish to the match as well.

Murray continued: “When he’s on, he’s definitely on. He can do a lot of damage but that base level just wasn’t there. Sinner will be relieved to get through that match in the end given his physical struggles. Hopefully he will make a full recovery for his quarter-final match tomorrow. Very dominant on serve only lost three points in that third set.”

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