In his first career five-set match, Cinà bounced back from seeing his 4-1 lead in the fourth-set tiebreak evaporate by generating an immediate break to start the decider. He then recovered from 0-40 down with the match on his racquet to prevail after three hours and 26 minutes against the American.
“I took it point by point and not think about if I go 5-all. I was really focused on each point,” he recalls with TENNIS.com afterwards. “The serve helped me in some points. I became more courageous. That was the key.”
Temperatures tipped 90 degrees in the French capital on Day 1 of the clay-court major. The extreme heat is expected to stay in place for the next several days, conditions the young man nicknamed “Palli” welcomes with open arms given his roots.
“I like it hot. In Palermo, it’s very hot. I like this type of weather more than clouds and rain. I’m happy that the matches are coming with sun,” he shares with a smile.
