Jannik Sinner keeps rolling at Italian Open

New Straits Times

13-05-2025

ROME: Jannik Sinner still has some rust from his three-month absence, but he hasn't lost the ability to bounce back, overcoming a brief lapse in the first set to beat Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong 6-4, 6-2 and move into the fourth round of the Italian Open on Monday in Rome.
In just his second match since returning from a doping ban, the home-crowd favorite Sinner jumped out to a 4-1 lead before losing his serve twice, allowing de Jong to bring the score to 4-4.
"I felt like I started the match very well and then I had a big drop," Sinner said. "I tried to understand what was going on. Then fortunately I broke him on 4-all again, which then gave me the confidence to continue."
Sinner's powerful groundstrokes and big serve allowed him to overcome his errors and advance to the Round of 16, marking his 23rd straight match victory dating to last October.
"It's good to have him back. He's such a big figure in the sport. He kind of sets the bar right now," said 11th seed Tommy Paul, who beat Czech No. 19 seed Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 in a match that included a patriotic air show by the Italian Air Force's aerobatic demonstration team.
Paul was up a set and a break on Machac when the planes started flying over, halting play for the Peyton Stearns-Naomi Osaka matchup. But Paul and Machac decided to play through the noise and smoke.
"It was right at the beginning of the game; I thought it was a one-time fly-by but they came back and then they came back again. Then it got kind of smoky on the court. But we looked at each other and (Machac) said, 'It's fine with me,' so we just kept going. It cleared pretty quick, but I thought it was pretty cool."
Reaching the semifinals at Rome for the second straight year, Paul will face No. 7 seed Alex de Minaur, whose third-round match against Bolivia's Hugo Dellien was also interrupted, this time by a medical emergency in the stands.
Play was paused when de Minaur had the momentum, and his rhythm seemed to be broken by the interruption. The Australian was serving at 4-3, 30-all in the first set but Dellien won the next two points to notch a crucial break of serve.
de Minaur ultimately shook off the momentum switch and prevailed, 6-4, 6-4.
No. 22 Sebastian Korda was on the losing end of the lone upset of the day, falling 6-4, 6-2 to Spain's Jaume Munar. Munar will face off against Norwegian sixth seed Casper Ruud, who made it through due in part to an abdominal injury that forced Italian No. 29 Matteo Berrettini to bow out in the second set.
Other winners Monday included No. 20 Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, No. 30 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland and No. 17 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina, who beat Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 6-2, 6-4 and will face Sinner in the next round. - AFP