Breaking News: Jannik Sinner escapes inspired Corentin Moutet in Roland Garros evening thriller

After surrendering the first set to the home favorite, the reigning Australian Open champion decided that’s enough entertainment for one evening as rallied convincingly to book his place in the quarterfinals.

By the time that world No. 2 Jannik Sinner found himself down 5-0 in the first set against Corentin Moutet, a point away from dropping the opening set in stunning fashion, the fans on a vibrant Court Philippe Chatrier seemed equally excited and relieved.

Late in the evening in Paris, home hope Moutet had just stormed to a surprising 4-0 lead in slightly over 15 minutes against the out-of-sorts Italian. Sinner came into the tournament struggling with a hip issue, but hadn’t been pushed like this as he cruised in his earlier matches with Christopher Eubanks, Richard Gasquet and Pavel Kotov. Was an upset, or even just a little detour toward drama, in the making?

The last match scheduled on a busy Chatrier, every previous singles match had been a one-sided affair for the higher-ranked player, from world No. 1 Iga Swiatek’s double-bageling of Anastasia Potapova kicking off fourth-round Sunday, to No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz similarly demolishing Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 to conclude the day session.

Beyond backing their No. 79-ranked countryman Moutet, fans at Roland Garros seemed to just want to watch more spectacular tennis. It’s a dramatic contrast to yesterday’s drawn-out action—which saw world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and Lorenzo Musetti finish their five-set, third-round duel after 3 a.m.—to the likely satisfaction of tournament officials already tormented by a rain-affected schedule.

But after dropping the first set 6-2, the defending Australian Open winner decided that’s enough fun for one evening. Tightening up his first-serve percentage—from 59% in the opening set to an imperious 78% in the fourth— Sinner kept his opponent out of the points, and the Chatrier supporters mostly mute.

The Italian pushed through the following three sets, brushing aside the lone break point he faced along the way, to complete his 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 comeback and move into the quarterfinals. He will face No. 10 seed Grigor Dimitrov next, after the Bulgarian overcame No. 8 seed Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Court Suzanne Lenglen.