Jannik Sinner enjoyed a winning return to tennis on Saturday after serving a three-month doping ban, as he defeated Mariano Navone in front of a rapturous crowd at his home Italian Open.
The Italian still holds the world No. 1 spot despite his enforced absence from the sport and he lived up to that mantle, overcoming an impressive Navone 6-3, 6-4 in Rome.
But it was the reaction from his home crowd who gave him a standing ovation that “means much more than any result,” he told reporters.
One fan held up a sign that read “Bentornato Jannik (Welcome back Jannik),” others dressed in orange, referencing Sinner’s ginger hair, or hung over the railings while he practiced to take photos of him.
Sinner was playing in his first match since returning from a three-month ban having twice tested positive for the banned substance Clostebol, an anabolic steroid, in March last year.
The three-time grand slam champion previously escaped a ban when the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) ruled that he wasn’t at fault for the positive tests, accepting that the contamination was caused by a physio applying an over-the-counter spray.
However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) subsequently lodged an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), leading to Sinner accepting a suspension from February 9 to May 4.
The saga around Sinner has shone the spotlight on the current anti-doping protocols in tennis, with several players raising concerns about possible preferential treatment for the top stars.
As he returned from that ban, just in time for the French Open which begins later this month, Sinner notched up a 22nd consecutive tour win, picking up where he left off after winning the Australian Open in January.
“I’m happy about the win today. It has been very difficult,” he said afterward in his on-court interview. “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 be 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.”
He took the first set with relative ease, producing 11 winners as his typical hard-hitting at times forced Navone off the court. The second set seemed to be unfolding in a similar fashion as Sinner once again broke Navone early on but the Argentine fought back, breaking the world No. 1 as he snatched at a forehand that went into the net.
Sinner will now play Jesper de Jong in the tournament’s third round on Monday.
American Collins upsets Świątek
Elsewhere in the Italian Open, American Danielle Collins upset world No. 2 Iga Świątek, who has dominated this tournament recently, winning it three of the last four years as she has been almost invincible on clay.
Collins, the No. 29 seed, ultimately cruised to a comprehensive 6-1, 7-5 win over Świątek who endured a poor serving display and was broken five consecutive times during the match.
Following the loss, Świątek will lose her world No. 2 ranking, ending a remarkable run of more than three years when she has occupied one of the top two spots in the world.
For Collins, the result marked just her second win over Świątek in nine meetings and means she will progress to the fourth round where she will face Elina Svitolina.
“After losing to Iga so many times, you obviously learn from those experiences, matchups,” she said afterwards, per the WTA. “Even though the last couple times we’ve played she’s beaten me, I’ve played some of my best tennis in those matches.
“So that gave me confidence.”
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