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Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner spoke extremely highly of former world No. 6 Gael Monfils following their Sofia final clash. Sinner, seeded at No. 1, handed Monfils a 6-3 6-4 loss to defend his Sofia title. Last year, Sinner captured his maiden ATP title on the indoor hard courts of Sofia.
This year, Sinner returned to the event and defended his title without a set lost. Sinner now owns a 3-1 head-to-head record against Monfiils. "What Monfils has done in his career is amazing. He has played a lot of big matches and still moves very well on the court.
He's extremely talented and he's a great guy. We have a good relationship, sometimes we joke together in the locker room," Sinner said of Monfils, per Lorenzo Ercoli.
Sinner insisted he didn't have an easy job against Monfils
Sinner made a perfect start to the match, having won the opening three games.
Sinner saved two consecutive break points in the seventh game, before serving out for the opener in the ninth game. After winning the first set, Sinner broke Monfils in the opening game of the second set. Sinner then routinely held on to his serve as he didn't allow Monfils a single break point in the second set to book a straight-set win.
“The level was high today,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “We had long, long rallies and it was physical as well. I am happy to be the winner here in Sofia again. I think it is a very nice tournament.
It was the best match [I have played this week] because I had to”. Sinner thought he was "luckier" than Monfils in key moments. “It is never easy playing against Gael, we’ve had many tough matches,” Sinner added. “I think in the crucial moments I was a bit luckier than him, which helped me a lot”.
