Sinner saves match point en route to French Open second round

PARIS: Italian prospect Jannik Sinner saved a match point as he laboured to a 6-1 4-6 6-7(4) 7-5 6-4 victory against France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the first round of the French Open on Monday.

The 19-year-old Sinner, who reached the quarter-finals on his Roland Garros debut last year, was 5-4 down in the fourth set when Herbert sent a backhand wide to give the world number 19 a lifeline. Sinner barely got out of first gear in a one-sided opening set before Herbert started to put pressure on his first serve, rushing to the net to unsettle the Italian.