Jannik Sinner was hilariously mocked by his own coach after storming into the third round of the French Open. The young Italian beat Richard Gasquet, playing his last-ever match, in straight sets to maintain his title charge at Roland Garros. He will face Jiri Lehecka in the next round on Saturday.
Sinner is the favourite to win the French Open and did enough to progress on a day of upsets. Alex de Minaur and Jakub Mensik were both knocked out after winning the first two sets of their respective matches. Denis Shapovalov was also beaten while reigning Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova bowed out of the women’s event.
At this year’s tournament, Sinner has been wearing a unique kit supplied by sponsors Nike. It features a blue hat, green collared shirt and blue shorts to provide a clear contrast with the orange clay at Roland Garros.
The colourful outfit was brutally mocked by Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill following his victory over Gasquet. On Instagram, he posted a picture of Sinner with the caption ‘Forza Luigi’, suggesting that he looked like the iconic character from the Mario franchise.
There were definitely similarities between the pair, with the shades of blue and green used by Sinner almost spot on. Only time will tell if he can make it an outfit to remember by adding to his tally of Grand Slam titles at the French Open.
Sinner sent a classy message to Gasquet after ending his career on Thursday, with the Frenchman bidding farewell to tennis in an emotional ceremony following his defeat.
“I think we have a good relationship off the court, I can say,” began Sinner. “Of course we are a different generation, but in the other way, it’s your moment. For me, it’s very difficult to talk now but congrats to your amazing career.
“You gave so much for this amazing crowd, for this home crowd. Congrats to your family, to your team, it’s amazing. Without great people around each player, it’s not possible to make such an incredible career.
“You played in an incredible era of tennis and everyone will recognise you even after your retirement. We all hope as players that you can still come sometimes to the tennis courts. It’s so nice to have you around.
“Again, congrats to everything you’ve done, amazing career but mostly amazing person you are and I wish you all the best for the next chapter. And now it’s your time, so I’m very grateful to be here.”
