Italian Open: Sinner battles into quarters, Alcaraz to meet Draper

World number 1 Italian Sinner passes a big test in his return from a three-month doping ban

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Top-ranked Jannik Sinner passed a big test in his return from a three-month doping ban, beating accomplished clay-court player Francisco Cerundolo 7-6 (2), 6-3 on Wednesday (IST) to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals.

The 18th-ranked Cerundolo has a tour-best 18 wins on clay this year and was coming off a run to the Madrid Open semifinals.

Also, Cerundolo beat Sinner when they last met on the same court—and in the same round—two years ago.

It's Sinner's first tournament since he won his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January and he hasn't dropped a set in three matches.

"Today I felt that I raised my level," Sinner said. "It was a very long day. But I need this. I'm happy to be back. I was three months out, so every situation for me, I feel very fortunate to be here, very lucky."

Sinner extended his winning streak to 24 matches, dating back to October, and he said that reaching the quarterfinals was "a great result," adding that "for the first tournament, I'm very, very happy."

In February, Sinner agreed to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised some questions, since the three-month suspension conveniently allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.

Rome is the last big warmup before the French Open starts on 25 May.

The start of the match was delayed for several hours due to rain, turning it into a night match. But ticket-holders for the day session at the Foro Italico hung around to see their home player and serenaded him with chants of "Ole, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner" at all of the big moments.

A sign in the crowd read, "We are all Sinners."