World No. 1 Jannik Sinner celebrated his 24th birthday to the Cincinnati Open final with a straight win over Terence Atmane.
Ohio State’s defending champion Sinner did not face a breakthrough point in a 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory.
It marks the 200th Tour victory on the Italian hard court, who is preparing to defend his championship at the U.S. Open later this month and extends his on-ground winning streak to 26 games.
In Monday’s final, he will face Carlos Alcaraz or Alexander Zverev.
“Every time you play with a brand new guy, it’s a very tough challenge, it’s very difficult,” Sina said.
Frenchman Atmane, 23, entered the main draw through the qualifying round and defeated seeds Flavio Cobolli, Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune on the way to meet with four-time Major Champion Sinners.
“It’s more stressful to fight this guy late in the game,” Sina added.
“He beats incredible players, so I know I have to be very careful. He has great potential.”
World number 136 Atmane (an avid Pokemon fan) gave Sinner his own collection of trade cards as a birthday gift as they waited to walk on the court.
However, that’s where Neceties ended, and Atmane impressed during his service, including three consecutive aces in Game 7.
However, the Frenchman’s double failure proposed a tiebreak in the first game, with Sinners (Sinners both conceded only one of 21 points in their first serve in the opener.
The Sinners struggled at the start of the second set and needed five match points to keep the opening game, but that was Atmane’s closest expression as the Italians led 3-1 and covered the game again.
