Jannik Sinner Returns with Force at the Rome Open
The world’s number one tennis player, Jannik Sinner, overcame a significant test in his return after a three-month suspension, defeating Francisco Cerundolo with scores of 7-6 (2), 6-3, securing his place in the quarterfinals of the Italian Open.
Cerundolo, ranked 18th, has had an excellent performance on clay this year, with 18 victories, the most on the circuit, and was coming off reaching the semifinals at the Madrid Open.
It should be noted that Cerundolo had already defeated Sinner in the same tournament and in the same round two years ago.
This tournament marks Sinner’s return after winning his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, and so far he hasn’t conceded any sets in his three matches.
Today I felt that I raised my level. It was a very long day. But I need this. I am happy to be back. I was out for three months, so every situation for me, I feel very fortunate to be here, very fortunate.
Jannik Sinner
In February, Sinner reached an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which raised questions, as the three-month suspension allowed him not to miss any Grand Slam and to return in his home tournament.
The Rome Open is the last major preparation event before the start of the French Open on May 25.
Sinner extended his winning streak to 24 matches, counting from October.
The start of the match was delayed several hours due to the rain, which turned it into a night encounter. However, the audience present at the Foro Italico stayed to support their local player and cheered him on with chants of “Ole, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner” in the key moments.
Sinner held firm during the long exchanges with Cerundolo and finally found precision in his short shot at the crucial moment, during the tiebreak.
After Sinner hit a volley winner in the second set, he gestured to the crowd to cheer louder.
Subsequently, Sinner requested a medical timeout to treat blisters on his right foot. Despite this, he broke Cerundolo’s serve in the following game to take a 3-1 lead in the second set and secure control of the match.
In his next match, Sinner will face the winner of the match between Casper Ruud, newly crowned champion in Madrid, or Jaume Munar, who played later.
Sinner is looking to become the first Italian to win the Rome title since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Carlos Alcaraz Advances with Difficulty
In the other bracket of the tournament, Carlos Alcaraz had to work hard to beat Karen Khachanov with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, which secured him a match against Jack Draper, who had defeated him earlier this year.
Alcaraz improved his record to 5-0 in his career against Khachanov, ranked 24th.
I was struggling a bit physically. I didn’t feel any pain anywhere in my body. I was just tired. I had to run a lot. I was very proud of the way I fought for every ball.
Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz, who won the Monte Carlo Masters in April, improved his record to 12-1 on clay this season. The four-time Grand Slam champion will face Draper in his next match, who defeated Corentin Moutet with scores of 1-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Although Alcaraz has a 3-2 lead in his head-to-head record against Draper, the British player won their most recent encounter in the semifinals of Indian Wells, California, in March.
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Lorenzo Musetti earned a match point against Daniil Medvedev before their match was interrupted by rain.
The match was suspended for almost three hours before the players returned to the court, and Musetti closed out the match with a forehand winner on the first point of the resumption.
Musetti, a newcomer to the top 10 in the ranking, ranked number 9, won with a score of 7-5, 6-4.
Jasmine Paolini Reaches Women’s Semifinals
In the women’s tournament, Jasmine Paolini came back to defeat Diana Shnaider with scores of 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2, becoming the first Italian woman to reach the semifinals in Rome since her doubles partner, Sara Errani, lost the 2014 final to Serena Williams.
Paolini was losing 3-0 in the second set when the match was briefly stopped due to rain. Shnaider managed to hold her serve and went up 4-0 after the suspension, but then Paolini won six consecutive games to take the set.
It was good that it rained for five minutes. I got some advice from Sara
Jasmine Paolini
Paolini’s opponent in the semifinals will be the winner of the match between Elina Svitolina, two-time champion in Rome, or Peyton Stearns, who played later.
The last Italian woman to win the Italian Open was Raffaella Reggi, who took the 1985 title in Taranto.
