Terence Atmane channels Sinner obsession into Asian ascent

The Dubai courts baked under a punishing sun, each practice rally a echo of unfinished business from Cincinnati’s humid nights. There, the 23-year-old left-hander had pushed the then-World No. 1 to the limit in August, his destructive forehand carving inside-out angles that tested the Italian’s backhand defense. That semifinal sting lingered, propelling Atmane through a three-week block where every one–two combination—serve slicing wide to the deuce side followed by a crosscourt rip—carried the weight of closing the gap. Asia’s hard courts awaited, surfaces that amplified his underspin while demanding precision against relentless returns, and the Frenchman didn’t wait long for another shot. The rematch unfolded in Beijing’s second round, after an opening stumble against Dino Prizmic in Chengdu. Sinner claimed the first set 6-4 with deep baseline lasers, but Atmane roared back in the second, stealing it 7-5 through a barrage of down-the-line forehands that disrupted the four-time Grand Slam champion’s rhythm. The crowd’s murmurs built into fervent cheers as the lefty’s wicked serve kicked awkwardly on the DecoTurf, forcing stretches and unforced errors. Yet the third set dissolved into a 6-0 clinic, Sinner’s crosscourt precision and flat backhands reclaiming control amid the evening chill. ### Desert drills sharpen tactical edges In Dubai’s furnace, sweat blurred the lines as Atmane dissected replays from Cincinnati, where his 7-6(4), 6-2 loss highlighted Sinner’s endurance edge. He drilled variations to counter that poise: low slices skidding on hard courts to pull the Italian forward, then punishing short balls with inside-in forehands that echoed his idol Fernando Gonzalez’s thunderous style. The Chilean, a former World No. 5 whose explosive game lit up early-2000s tournaments, inspired these sessions; recent Instagram exchanges added a personal spark, with Atmane poring over old matches in quiet moments to adapt that forehand firepower to Asia’s grippier surfaces. Psychologically, the isolation built grit, transforming a foot injury’s frustration—sidelining him from the US Open—into defiant momentum, each repetition narrowing the chasm one adjusted pattern at a time. This grind paid dividends in Beijing, where the faster bounce suited his high-octane aggression more than Europe’s clay. He shortened his backswing for quicker takes on second serves, varying depths to unsettle Sinner’s depth control, and the stolen set marked tangible progress. Yet fatigue exposed gaps, a reminder that tactical smarts demand sustained power across three sets on tours spanning continents. The atmosphere pulsed with expat energy, polite applause mixing with fervent French pockets, heightening the stakes as floodlights cast long shadows over the baseline battles. ### Breakthroughs fuel unyielding ambition Atmane’s 2025 arc has surged from Challenger shadows, his ranking leaping from 136 to 69 after Cincinnati’s quarterfinal fairy tale—upsetting Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune with blistering one–two punches, then outlasting Joao Fonseca in a slugfest that doubled his earnings to $332,000. Earlier triumphs in Busan and Guangzhou steeled him for this Asian return, hard-court crowns that honed his lefty serve’s kick and forehand’s destruction. Rankings milestones like Top 50 feel secondary; it’s the chaos of big-stage clashes with untouchables like Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz that ignite his juices, a go-big-or-go-home ethos thriving on perceived deficits. He visualizes stages of conquest: first a set, now aiming for two, his mindset shunning incremental climbs for holistic growth. “it’s important to raise the bar, super high,” he emphasized. “I’m not focused on trying to be Top 50, Top 40, Top 30. All I want to do is become a better player and a better person every single day.” In Cincinnati, toppling superiors proved his mettle; Sinner remains the summit, that Beijing collapse etching data for tweaks like wider serve locations to open angles. ### Shanghai spotlights explosive potential Direct acceptance into the Shanghai Masters main draw marks his first ATP Masters 1000 without qualifiers, the vast Qizhong Forest Sports City echoing with neon-framed possibility. Facing Camilo Ugo Carabelli on Thursday, the winner eyes World No. 7 Alex de Minaur in round two, another chance to unleash Gonzalez-like fire on hard courts that reward aggression. Wind off the Huangpu could turn safe crosscourts wild, but Atmane’s speed and variety—drop shots pulling opponents forward, then inside-out winners exploiting the gaps—position him to thrive in the humidity. The psychological forge of this season—from injury lows to breakthrough highs—layers emotional resilience atop evolving tactics, his Pokémon passion and magic tricks a whimsical counter to the grind. As October’s chill seeps in, that rent-free residence in Sinner’s thoughts drives him forward, each swing a step toward flipping the script in future rallies under Asian lights.