Unless you’re a tennis die-hard, you probably didn’t know much about Terence Atmane before this week. The 23-year-old Frenchman is ranked as the World No. 136 and has played just 14 matches on the ATP Tour in the last calendar year.

The world No. 1, who was celebrating his 24th birthday, has now won his last 26 matches in a row on this surface.

A rampaging Jannik Sinner will cross paths with a spirited Terence Atmane in their first-ever meeting on the ATP Tour. Sinner will be battling history along with Atmane, for no player has defended his title in a decade.

Jannik Sinner was subjected to an unusual chant from the Cincinnati Open crowd before his match against Terence Atmane. The young Italian was pitted against his French rival in the semi-finals, having won all of his previous matches without dropping a set.

Sinner did not want to compare himself with the Big 4, admitting they are on a different level. Instead, he is writing his own story while chasing more records and tennis immortality. There is a direct correlation between Jannik Sinner’s success and a small little lion in his bag 🦁 pic.twitter.com/KjX6Y5OyUe

The fans initially answered questions, unaware of the presence of tennis stars Iga Swiatek, Jannik Sinner, and Aryna Sabalenka.

The two top seeds, Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, are both safely through to the quarter-finals after winning yesterday while Carlos Alcaraz also progressed in the early hours. The Italian will now face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime tonight for a place in the final four. Elsewhere, Coco Gauff and Jasmine Paolini both play last-16 matches.