Jannik Sinner defended Holger Rune after the Dane clashed with the crowd at the 2024 Monte-Carlo Masters, even though it directly impacted the match.
The Italian and his young Danish rival played a spectacular tennis match in Monte Carlo. Sinner was able to win in three sets, avenging the loss to Rune at the same ATP Masters 1000 event from a year ago.
Much like that match, this one had a bit of drama as well, and Rune clashed with the crowd. He got a time violation and, after that, a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct after he signaled to the crowd to be quiet, calling the supervisor in the end, which kind of cut short Sinner's momentum a little.
The Italian was starting to take over the second set at that time, but the pause cut it short, and Rune ended up winning that set.
He would ultimately lose the third set, which was different from last year, when Sinner was the one who was more affected by the drama, losing that match in three sets. Speaking after this triumph, the Italian said that there was nothing wrong with what happened in their match this year.
"There is nothing wrong with all this. You can make a little bit chaos. I've learnt from last year a little bit. It's all part of the learning process. Even if I lose today I learn again."
Ultimately, Sinner was glad he was able to overcome the drama in the match and win it. His level was great, and now he's hoping that things will work out against Stefanos Tsitsipas, who has been amazing so far at the event.
"I'm very happy about today. It has been a very tough match. I'm happy about the level. Tomorrow is gonna be tough one against Stefanos. He's playing well so let's see what I can do tomorrow."