Sinner returns to action with victory in Rome after 104 days

Jannik Sinner is back to business on home soil at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia.

The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings settled quickly on Saturday in his first match for more than three months, producing an all-around impressive second-round display to defeat Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4. Sinner let slip a break lead in the second set but responded quickly to earn a one-hour, 38-minute victory at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” said Sinner. “I waited quite long for this moment. I’m very happy to be back. It’s very difficult to have the right feedback when you don’t have any matches, and that’s exactly what I need. Now I think the best practice is the match itself, so I’m very happy about that.

“I’m very happy about the win today. It was very difficult. He is such a great player, especially on this surface. I tried to move around the ball. At times it went very well, at times it could have been better, yes, but in any case, it doesn’t matter about the result today. It has been a remarkable day for me, so I’m very happy.”

“I was surprised how things can [feel good] so quickly. I tried to give everything I have. I think that’s the only thing I can do and that’s the only thing I can control right now,” said Sinner, when asked how happy he was with his game. “The sensation felt quite good, to be honest. Of course, there were some ups and downs, that is normal, but he played some great tennis, especially when he broke me in the second set. I tried to accept that and tried to work again. Now I have some good feedback, and hopefully I can work with that.”

By defeating the World No. 99 Navone, Sinner improved to 60-0 against players outside the Top 20 since the start of the 2023 US Open. The 23-year-old will attempt to make that 61-0 in his third-round match when he takes on lucky loser Jesper de Jong, who raced past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-0, 6-2 earlier on Saturday. Sinner defeated De Jong in straight sets in the pair’s only previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting at the 2024 Australian Open.