PARIS, France (AFP) — Jannik Sinner began his tilt at a maiden Paris Masters crown, which would return him to world No. 1, with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Zizou Bergs while reigning champion Alexander Zverev battled through a lengthy three-setter.

Following the surprise exit of world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at the Round of 32 stage on Tuesday, a maiden crown in the ATP 1000 event in the French capital would return Sinner to the summit of the world rankings.

But the Italian second seed showed no signs of feeling the weight of that pressure in his opening match at La Defense Arena — the top eight seeds received byes through the first round.