World No. 1 Jannik Sinner marked his return to tennis with a confident victory, defeating 99th-ranked Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4 in front of an enthusiastic home crowd at the Italian Open on Saturday, following a three-month doping ban.
This match was Sinner`s first competitive appearance in over 100 days, since his triumph at the Australian Open in January where he claimed his third Grand Slam title.
Showing minimal signs of rust, Sinner quickly settled in, hitting powerful groundstrokes with precision. When he secured a break to take a 3-1 lead in the first set, the crowd inside Campo Centrale erupted into chants of `Ole, ole, ole, Sin-ner, Sin-ner.`
The sold-out stadium of 10,500 was a sea of orange, Sinner`s signature color, with numerous signs displaying `bentornato Jannik` (`welcome back Jannik`). This win extended Sinner`s impressive winning streak to 22 matches, a run dating back to last October.
In February, Sinner accepted a three-month ban as part of a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency. This agreement raised questions among some observers as it allowed him to avoid missing any Grand Slams and return for his home tournament.
The settlement followed WADA`s appeal against a decision by the International Tennis Integrity Agency last year, which had fully cleared Sinner, ruling that a banned anabolic steroid found in March 2024 was the result of accidental contamination. However, some fellow players felt the ban was too lenient.
Sinner`s only minor setback in the match came late in the second set when he failed to consolidate a break and dropped his own serve. Nevertheless, he immediately broke back in the next game and then served out the match confidently.
The last Italian man to win the title in Rome was Adriano Panatta in 1976.
Sinner`s next opponent will be Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong, who advanced after defeating 25th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina with a dominant 6-0, 6-2 scoreline.
Bartoli: “Absolutely convinced Sinner did nothing wrong”
Sky Sports pundit and former Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli shared her perspective on Sinner`s situation, commenting on the public reaction and his handling of the events. She expressed admiration for how he continued to win despite the discussion.
“I am absolutely convinced he has done nothing wrong. You cannot tell me one billionth of a gram is a performance enhancer,” Bartoli stated.
She added that the way the doping agency initially seemed to “put it under the carpet” before the news became public created significant doubt, expressing hope for greater transparency in such matters going forward.
Bartoli also highlighted the positive reception Sinner received from his peers, noting that he “is back where he belongs, which is on a tennis court.”
She observed the strong public interest in his return, stating he “has been a miss for tennis,” and described large crowds even at his practice sessions. Bartoli concluded that Sinner`s focus is simply on competing and winning.
Fearnley Exit Leaves Draper as Sole Brit in Men`s Singles
In other second-round matches, British player Jacob Fearnley was defeated by Italy`s Matteo Berrettini, a former Wimbledon finalist, losing 6-4, 7-6 (7-0) in Saturday`s first match on Centrale court.
Fearnley, who had beaten Italian Fabio Fognini in the first round, showed resilience, saving five of the seven break points he faced against Berrettini, the world No. 27 and a six-time clay-court title winner.
However, Berrettini secured the win by dominating the second-set tie-break 7-0, setting up a third-round match against Casper Ruud, the recent Madrid Open champion, who overcame Alexander Bublik 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
British No. 1 Jack Draper, who was the runner-up to Ruud in the Madrid final, is scheduled to face Czech qualifier Vit Kopriva on Sunday. Draper advanced by defeating Italy`s Luciano Darderi in the second round on Friday.
Draper`s impressive performance in Madrid saw him climb the rankings, surpassing 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic to reach World No. 5. He now has World No. 4 Taylor Fritz in his sights.
Fritz`s loss to fellow American Marcos Giron (7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-3)) on Saturday creates an opportunity for Draper to potentially overtake him in the rankings depending on his progress in Rome.
Elsewhere in the tournament, 16th seed Andrey Rublev was eliminated by Fabian Marozsan, and 15th seed Frances Tiafoe was defeated by Sebastian Ofner. Both upset results came in three-set matches.
