Jannik Sinner began his defence of the Canadian Open title with a routine 6-2 6-4 victory over Borna Coric in Montreal.

Sinner, who won his first ATP Masters 1000 crown at the 2023 event and has since won the Miami Open and his first grand slam at this year's Australian Open, was victorious within one hour and 37 minutes at the Omnium Banque National presente par Rogers.

The Italian, who missed the Paris Olympic Games with tonsillitis, showed no signs of rust on his first hard-court outing since his Miami triumph in March.

He stuck the ball sweetly from the off and only dropped four points behind his own first serve, with breaks in the third games of both sets putting him on course for victory.

He will face 15th seed Alejandro Tabilo or Lorenzo Sonego in the last 16 as he prepares for a potential title tilt at the US Open.

Speaking after his win, Sinner said: "I've been here for a little bit so I'm maybe a bit more used to the conditions, but still, I'm very happy about the performance.

"It was a very tough match. Even if you watched the score, it felt closer for sure. 

"I had to save a break point in the second set and if he makes that one it could potentially change the match. It was a very good mindset today and I'll try to keep going."

Data Debrief: Forty and counting for Sinner

Sinner's victory, coming at the age of 22 years and 357 days, made him the youngest player to achieve 40 successive wins against players ranked outside the ATP's top 20 since Rafael Nadal, who completed that feat aged 22 years and 285 days at Indian Wells in 2009.