The Italian hasn’t displayed his best tennis so far in Paris, but that shouldn’t be a great surprise considering he admitted before the event that he wasn’t 100% ready physically. He will grow with every encounter and improve, and he certainly seemed comfortable in his third-round play.

He looked more comfortable than he did in the last round, although he didn’t truly destroy his opponent. He could have, but Kotov did just enough to prevent it. He battled bravely but also never quite came close to giving the second seed too much trouble.

Every time he drew close, the Italian simply lifted his level a little bit, and that was enough to kill any Russian’s dream. The first set was unproblematic for Sinner, even though he missed numerous chances to cruise even easier.

Kotov actually had more winners than Sinner in the opening set, and that’s the only reason the score was just 6-4. The second set was very balanced as well, but neither was as sharp as in the previous set.

Kotov had a break point this time around, but Sinner saved it and converted one to win the set 6-4 as well. The start of the final set was very matched, but once again, the 2024 Australian Open winner slowly but steadily took over.

Kotov had immense power in his game, but it wasn’t enough since when Sinner truly tried, he was practically unplayable. The break came at 2-2 for a 3-2 advantage after which Sinner cruised to the finish line to win the match 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.