Jannik Sinner bolted out of the blocks in his first ATP match since Wimbledon with the defending champion defeating Borna Coric 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday at the Montreal Masters.
The Italian world number one last competed in the All-England Club quarter-finals a month ago, where he was treated for illness in a loss to Daniil Medvedev.
Sinner missed the Olympics due to tonsillitis and arrived a week ago in Canada to get accustomed to match play again.
It has worked well as he and Briton Jack Draper have reached the doubles quarter-finals.
“Playing doubles helped to get the match feeling back,” Sinner said after his 96 minute-defeat of Croat Coric. “I’m hitting the ball quite cleanly, trying to get better each day.”
The 22-year-old Australian Open champion called his singles start “positive.”
“I’m very happy with the performance,” he said. “The match felt closer than the score. I had to …