Italian Open: Sinner overcomes injured De Jong, enters 2nd round

The World No.1 Italian broke little sweat on his way to a 6-4, 6-2 victory over his Dutch opponent

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

Jannik Sinner is still regaining his focus on the tennis court after his three-month doping ban.

World No.1 Jannik Sinner continued his return from a doping ban with a comfortable straight-sets victory over Dutch lucky loser Jesper de Jong in the second round of the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The Italian who defeated Mariano Navone in his first match for more than three months on Saturday, backed that up with another stable display, beating Jesper de Jong 6-4, 6-2 on Tuesday (IST).

The top-ranked player overcame a brief lapse during the first set in his second match back on tour at the Italian Open. Sinner jumped out to a 4-1 lead but then lost his serve twice as the 93rd-ranked De Jong evened the first set at 4-4.

There were poor drop shots, an inopportune double-fault and other errors from Sinner. But the Italian regained control in front of his home crowd with his powerful groundstrokes and big serve and extended his winning streak to 23 matches, dating back to October.

Playing in front of a vocal Italian crowd on Campo Centrale, Sinner let slip a break advantage in the first set but responded quickly to move ahead. The World No. 1 then moved through the gears in the second set against De Jong, who injured his right wrist when slipping at 1-3, 40/15 in the second set.

Sinner helped De Jong to his feet before he passed the 24-year-old a towel. The World No. 93 received a medical timeout at 2-3, with his wrist heavily strapped. The Dutchman could continue but was heavily hampered, frequently shaking out his wrist between points.