Jannik Sinner had no issues cruising past Pavel Kotov at the 2024 Roland Garros, quieting any injury concerns that arose in recent days.
The Italian hasn't shown his best tennis so far in Paris, but that shouldn't be a huge surprise because he admitted before the event that he wasn't 100% ready physically. He will grow with every match and improve, and he certainly looked comfortable in his third-round match.
He looked more comfortable than he did in the previous match, but he didn't really crush his opponent. He could have, but Kotov did just enough to prevent that. He battled bravely but also never quite came close to giving the second seed too much trouble.
Every time he got close, the Italian simply raised his level a little bit, and that was enough to crush any Russian's hope. The first set was unproblematic for Sinner, even though he missed some 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 only 6-4. The second set was quite 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 pretty balanced, but once again, the 2024 Australian Open winner slowly but surely took over.
Kotov has massive power in his game, but it wasn't enough because when Sinner really tried, he was basically unplayable. The break came at 2-2 for a 3-2 lead after which Sinner cruised to the finish line to win the match 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
| Jannik Sinner | 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 | Pavel Kotov |
| 4 | Aces | 1 |
| 1 | Double Faults | 1 |
| 63% | First Serve % | 65% |
| 79% (41/52) | Points Won After First Serve % | 73% (47/64) |
| 68% (21/31) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 46% (16/35) |
| 23% (3/13) | Break Point Conversion | 0% (0/1) |
| 36 | Winners | 30 |
| 21 | Unforced Errors | 26 |