TENNIS: Sinner through to Australian Open second round after Gaston retires

MELBOURNE — Double defending champion Jannik Sinner advanced to the second round of the Australian Open on Tuesday after his French opponent, Hugo Gaston, retired in the second set.

Sinner, who won the ATP Finals title after defeating Carlos Alcaraz, dominated the match at Rod Laver Arena. The Italian world number two took the first two sets 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour before the match ended prematurely.

After losing the second set, Gaston signaled that he could no longer continue and walked off to sit down and cry under a towel.

Sinner said he was surprised by the retirement but understood that Gaston was not at his best.

Sinner will now face the winner of the match between James Duckworth and Dino Prizmic as he seeks a third straight Australian Open title.

-Reporting by Ian Ransom in Melbourne; Editing by William Maclean/Reuters