Jannik Sinner treasures sharing court with "incredible showman" Monfils in Rotterdam win

While Jannik Sinner joined Grigor Dimitrov in the ABN AMRO Open quarterfinals on Thursday, fellow seeds Holger Rune and Hubert Hurkacz were less fortunate.

Sinner notched his 12th consecutive victory dating back to last year’s Davis Cup Finals after handling the test put forth by two-time Rotterdam champion Gael Monfils. The top seed prevailed, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, in a match where an early break of serve held up in each set.

“It was one shaky game of mine in the second set. Things change so fast,” Sinner told ATP Media. “But I still believe these kind of matches help you a lot, especially on the mental part. When you don’t play your best tennis, you still try to find some (way) to win.”

His win over the French wild card was just the second time Sinner has found himself in a deciding set this season, following his comeback from two sets down against Daniil Medvedev in their riveting Australian Open final. The world No. 4 improved to 5-1 against Monfils, a competitor he had nothing but kind words to say about afterwards.

“He’s an incredible showman. All the crowd and people, they love him. That’s what this sport needs,” Sinner said. “Hopefully I can share the court with him as many times as possible. When I came to the tour, he was always nice from the beginning. I think that's also (something) to admire.”

The 22-year-old finished as the runner-up here last year to Medvedev and looks to keep his perfect start to 2024 going when he plays Milos Raonic in a first-time meeting.

Dimitrov, last week's finalist in Marseille, improved to 12-2 on the year after getting the better of Marton Fucsovics for the second time in three tournaments. The No. 6 seed went 15 for 19 at the net and saved all three break points against his serve in securing a 6-3, 7-5 victory.

For a place in the last four, Dimitrov faces Alexander Shevchenko. The 23-year-old scored the biggest win of his career when he ousted third-seeded Holger Rune, 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. The win over the world No. 7 marked Shevchenko’s second career Top 10 victory, having beaten No. 9-ranked Taylor Fritz in Basel last October.

Hurkacz went down to home favorite Tallon Griekspoor, who came up clutch by winning successive tiebreakers for the second round in a row.

After saving two match points to deny Lorenzo Musetti, Griekspoor battled past the fourth-seeded Pole, 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), in two hours and 34 minutes.

“This means everything to me,” said Griekspoor. “This is the whole reason why I play tennis, to be able to play these kind of matches against such a great opponent. Such a great friend of mine as well. To be able to win this match is really special, especially here in Rotterdam.”

The Dutchman is seeking his second ATP title on home soil, having captured the grass-court crown at 's-Hertogenbosch in June 2023. Emil Ruusuvuori, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Jan-Lennard Struff, stands between Griekspoor and the semifinals.