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Defending Champion Jannik Sinner Beats Borna Coric in Montreal in Return from Tonsillitis

Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a backhand against Borna Coric of Croatia in the Men's Singles second round match during Day Three of the ATP Masters 1000 National Bank Open at Stade IGA on August 8, 2024 in Montreal, Canada. (Getty Images via AFP)
Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a backhand against Borna Coric of Croatia in the Men's Singles second round match during Day Three of the ATP Masters 1000 National Bank Open at Stade IGA on August 8, 2024 in Montreal, Canada. (Getty Images via AFP)
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Defending Champion Jannik Sinner Beats Borna Coric in Montreal in Return from Tonsillitis

Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a backhand against Borna Coric of Croatia in the Men's Singles second round match during Day Three of the ATP Masters 1000 National Bank Open at Stade IGA on August 8, 2024 in Montreal, Canada. (Getty Images via AFP)
Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a backhand against Borna Coric of Croatia in the Men's Singles second round match during Day Three of the ATP Masters 1000 National Bank Open at Stade IGA on August 8, 2024 in Montreal, Canada. (Getty Images via AFP)

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner opened his National Bank Open title defense with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Borna Coric on Thursday in the second round of the National Bank Open.

Sinner missed the Olympics because of tonsillitis after a quarterfinal loss to Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon. In January, Sinner beat Medvedev in the Australian Open final for his first Grand Slam title.

“Very happy and excited to go back on court,” Sinner said. “It was a tough match, but I served quite well in important moments and returned well in the games when I broke him. So a very positive start.”

Second-seeded Alexander Zverev routed Jordan Thompson 6-1, 6-1 for his ATP Tour-leading 48th match victory of the year.

Rain wiped out the night session. Fourth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz was set to face Thanasi Kokkinakis when the rain hit, and Arthur Rinderknech led Flavio Cobolli in the fourth game. The all-American clash between Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda also was postponed.

Earlier, the third-seeded Medvedev and eighth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas were eliminated.

Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Medvedev 6-4, 1-6, 6-2, and Kei Nishikori topped Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-4. Medvedev, the Russian who won the 2021 US Open, had 17 unforced errors and won just 32% of his second-serve points.

Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev advanced with a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Sixth-seeded Casper Ruud outlasted James Duckworth 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-3.

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Italian World Cup Striker Schillaci Dies Aged 59

FILE PHOTO: Italian striker Salvatore Schillaci (L) of Iwata Jubilo and world selections in the J.League tries to intercept a back pass by Japanese defender Saito of Shimizu S-Pulse during the J.League dream match held at Tokyo's national stadium October 10. The world squad beat the Japanese selections 2-1. JAPAN/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Italian striker Salvatore Schillaci (L) of Iwata Jubilo and world selections in the J.League tries to intercept a back pass by Japanese defender Saito of Shimizu S-Pulse during the J.League dream match held at Tokyo's national stadium October 10. The world squad beat the Japanese selections 2-1. JAPAN/File Photo
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Italian World Cup Striker Schillaci Dies Aged 59

FILE PHOTO: Italian striker Salvatore Schillaci (L) of Iwata Jubilo and world selections in the J.League tries to intercept a back pass by Japanese defender Saito of Shimizu S-Pulse during the J.League dream match held at Tokyo's national stadium October 10. The world squad beat the Japanese selections 2-1. JAPAN/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Italian striker Salvatore Schillaci (L) of Iwata Jubilo and world selections in the J.League tries to intercept a back pass by Japanese defender Saito of Shimizu S-Pulse during the J.League dream match held at Tokyo's national stadium October 10. The world squad beat the Japanese selections 2-1. JAPAN/File Photo

Former Italy and Juventus striker Salvatore Schillaci, a star of the 1990 World Cup on his home soil, has died at the age of 59, his former clubs Inter Milan and Juventus said on Wednesday.

Schillaci led Italy to their third-place finish in 1990, winning the Golden Boot for his six goals during the tournament, including in the semi-final against Argentina and in their third-place victory over England, Reuters reported.

"A football icon is leaving us, a man who has entered the hearts of Italians and sports fans around the world," Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni posted on X.

"Salvatore Schillaci, known by everyone as Toto, the striker from the magic nights of Italia '90 with our national team. Thanks for the emotions you gave us, for having made us dream, celebrate, embrace, and wave our national flag. Bon voyage, champion."

The Sicilian's wide eyes as he celebrated his goals became one of the enduring images of that World Cup.
Schillaci was awarded the Golden Ball as player of the tournament and was later named as the runner-up for the 1990 Ballon d'Or men's player of the year award, behind World Cup winning captain Lothar Matthaus of West Germany.
He had started Italy's opening World Cup game as a substitute but came off the bench to score the winner in a 1-0 victory over Austria.
After the excitement of 1990, Schillaci scored only one more goal for Italy and did not appear for them at any other major tournaments.
A small, bustling striker, Schillaci, nicknamed "Toto", had been a late developer, spending the early years of his career playing in the lower leagues for Sicilian club Messina.
He was the top scorer in Serie B, the Italian second division, in 1988-89, earning him a move to Serie A giants Juventus.
"We immediately fell in love with Toto. With his desire, his story, his passion," Juventus said in a statement.
"We at Juve were lucky enough to get excited about him before, in that incredible summer of 1990, the whole of Italy did."
Schillaci helped Juventus to claim the Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup in 1989-90 before winning the latter trophy again four years later with Inter Milan.
Serie A President Lorenzo Casini paid tribute to Schillaci.
"He was a champion who lit up the "magic nights" of Italia 90," he said.
"His desire to reach the top levels in soccer has been and will remain a source of inspiration for so many youngsters pursuing their dream of playing in Serie A."
He then became the first Italian player to play in Japan's J.League and won the league title with his club Jubilo Iwata in 1997.
He retired from football in 1999.