ROME — Jannik Sinner is still regaining his focus on the tennis court after his three-month doping ban.
The world No. 1 overcame a brief lapse during the first set of a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 93 Dutch qualifier Jesper De Jong in his second match back on tour in front of his home crowd at the Italian Open on Monday.
Sinner jumped out to 4-1 but then lost his serve twice as De Jong evened the set at 4-4.
There were poor drop shots, an inopportune double fault and other errors from Sinner.
But he regained control with his powerful groundstrokes and big serve and extended his winning streak to 23 matches, dating to October.
Sinner is into the last 16 of his first tournament since he won his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.
In February, Sinner agreed to the three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised some questions, since it conveniently allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.
The Italian Open is the last big warmup before the French Open starts May 25.
Just like in his opening win over Mariano Navone on Saturday, the fans at the Foro Italico were fully behind Sinner — Italy’s first No. 1.
Yelling “Vai Jannik” (“Go Jannik”) and singing his name, the crowd provided encouragement whenever Sinner needed it.
“It’s good to have him back,” 12th-ranked Tommy Paul said of Sinner after beating Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4. “He’s such a big figure in the sport. He kind of sets the bar right now.”
The last Italian man to win the Rome title was Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Sinner next faces 17th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo, who beat Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 6-2, 6-4.
Cerundolo is coming off a run to the Madrid Open semifinals and beat Nicolas Jarry — last year’s Rome finalist — in straight sets in the opening round.
Sinner checks fallen opponent De Jong, who fell to the clay when he lost his footing trying to reach a passing shot from Sinner in the second set and Sinner came across the net to check on him. Sinner fetched a towel for De Jong and wiped off the Dutchman’s racket handle.
De Jong then needed medical attention for his right wrist before resuming play.
Also reaching the fourth round was seventh-seeded Alex De Minaur, who beat Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien in a match that was interrupted twice during the first set — first when a spectator got sick and then because of a flyover by the Italian Air Force’s acrobatic team.
De Minaur was visibly frustrated by the flyover.
“I didn’t handle it very well, because I got broken straight away,” De Minaur said. “I did well to bounce back and get the break back, but I’ve got to be a little bit better mentally to not let those things, outside factors affect me.”
In the women’s round of 16, Coco Gauff routed Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 in a matchup of former US Open champions.
Peyton Stearns eliminated Naomi Osaka 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) after 2 hours, 41 minutes. Stearns also edged Australian Open champion Madison Keys in a third-set tiebreaker in her previous match.
Also, home favorite Jasmine Paolini beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.
Source: espn.com