Jannik Sinner was made to toil by Hubert Hurkacz as the Italian seventh seed saved a matchpoint to seal a 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-1 victory at the Monte Carlo Masters on Thursday and book his spot in the quarter finals.

Watched on by sprint great Usain Bolt in the stands, Hurkacz raced to a 3-0 lead before Sinner got on the board and the world No. 13 wobbled towards the end of the opening set before wrapping it up with two fiery first serves.

Sinner, a Monaco quarter finalist last year as well, found himself in more hot water shortly after the second set began but the 21-year-old hit back after dropping serve to grab a break and level at 2-2.

Hurkacz raised his game to force a tie-break and looked in control but the scrappy Sinner saved a matchpoint and dragged the contest into a decider. The Italian then got his nose in front and held firm to complete the win as Hurkacz faded.

German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff earlier stunned fourth seed Casper Ruud 6-1, 7-6(6), ending the Estoril champion’s nine-match winning streak on clay stretching back to last July.

Also, Matteo Berrettini pulled out with an abdominal injury, the Italian world No. 22 said. Berrettini, who turned 27 on Wednesday, was due to face sixth seed Holger Rune, who advances to the quarter finals as a result of the Italian’s withdrawal.

“I’m very sad to announce I will not be able to play my match today (Thursday) in Monte Carlo. I felt some pain in my obliques during my match yesterday (Wednesday),” Berrettini said in a statement.

“After consulting with my medical team we decided to have an MRI scan. I have a grade 2 tear in my internal oblique muscle.”

Murray view

The war in Ukraine and the plight of its tennis players must be at the forefront of discussions at Wimbledon, not the grand slam’s decision to reverse its ban on Russian and Belarusian players, former world No.1 Andy Murray said.

“What’s really important is to continue to talk about what’s happening in Ukraine now, not focusing on a few tennis players and a few athletes who may or may not be able to play major sporting events,” Murray told the Tennis Majors website.

“It’s a difficult decision for Wimbledon. The rest of sport had gone in a completely different direction to them, which made it hard. But I don’t think this should be so much about that.

“It’s distracting a little bit from actually what’s taking place. You don’t want that to happen. You want the actual issue to be at the forefront of all of these discussions.”