Jannik Sinner cruised into the last 16 of the Italian Open yesterday after comfortably beating lucky loser Jesper de Jong 6-4, 6-2 in front of a delighted crowd in Rome. World number one Sinner continued his Foro Italico comeback from a
AFP | Rome
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Jannik Sinner cruised into the last 16 of the Italian Open yesterday after comfortably beating lucky loser Jesper de Jong 6-4, 6-2 in front of a delighted crowd in Rome.
World number one Sinner continued his Foro Italico comeback from a three-month doping ban by dealing with De Jong and setting up a clash with Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in the next round.
The over 10,000 fans crammed into the centre court stands hope Sinner can end a 49-year wait for an Italian winner of the men’s tournament in the Italian capital.
But yesterday’s win was in reality another warm-up for 23-year-old’s stated objective of arriving at the French Open in top form.
De Jong, ranked at a career-high 93rd in the world, offered some resistance in a low-key contest in which Sinner showed signs of rustiness.
Sinner threw away a threegame lead when 4-1 up in the first set before eventually going ahead in the match but he saw out the contest with little fuss, helped in part by De Jong hurting his wrist in a fall in the fourth game of the second set.
Sinner’s compatriot Jasmine Paolini cruised past Jelena Ostapenko and into the women’s quarter-finals, easing past her Latvian opponent in straight sets 7-5, 6-2.
Sixth seed Paolini will face Diana Shnaider in the last eight as she eyes another deep run in a 1000 series tournament after losing to world number Aryna Sabalenka, who later takes on Marta Kostyuk, in the Miami semi-finals.
Matteo Berrettini will follow Sinner in a tough clash with sixth seed Casper Ruud, as fans hope for a hat-trick of wins on centre court for their local heroes.
Naomi Osaka’s struggle for form at the top level continued with her 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4) defeat to Peyton Stearns.
