Jannik Sinner is preparing for his first significant challenge at the Italian Open as he gears up to face Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo in the last 16 on Tuesday. The world number one eased past Dutch lucky loser Jesper de Jong 6-4, 6-2 on Monday in front of a passionate home crowd at Rome’s Foro Italico.
Sinner, aiming to build momentum ahead of Roland Garros, admitted he’ll need to elevate his performance against Cerundolo, who knocked him out at this same stage last year and recently reached the semi-finals in Madrid.
“Tomorrow will be a big day for me, because I’ll need to raise my game against him,” Sinner told reporters. “He’s been playing great tennis recently and will be full of confidence.”
While the Italian fans are hopeful Sinner can end their nation’s 49-year wait for a men’s title in Rome, Monday’s encounter was more of a tune-up for the 23-year-old. Despite some rustiness—he surrendered a 4-1 lead in the opening set—he closed out the match comfortably, aided by De Jong injuring his wrist during the second set.
Fellow Italian Jasmine Paolini also delighted home fans with a confident 7-5, 6-2 victory over Jelena Ostapenko to reach the women’s quarter-finals. The sixth seed will next face Russia’s Diana Shnaider as she eyes another deep run at a WTA 1000 event, following her semi-final showing in Miami.
“The atmosphere today was really, really great,” Paolini said. “We really enjoy being in this era of Italian tennis. We are like a team. Everybody is pushing each other.”
Meanwhile, there was heartbreak for Matteo Berrettini, who retired from his match against sixth seed Casper Ruud due to an abdominal issue while trailing 7-5, 2-0. Ruud will play Spain’s Jaume Munar next, with a potential quarter-final clash with Sinner on the horizon.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the women’s quarter-finals after a hard-fought 6-1, 7-6 (10-8) win over Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk. After cruising through the first set in just 30 minutes, Sabalenka was made to work for the win in a thrilling second set that featured a gripping 20-point seventh game.
“I’m just thrilled with the performance today. I really enjoyed this fight and I’m super happy to get this win,” Sabalenka said post-match.
With reigning champion Iga Swiatek out of the competition, Sabalenka is now the favourite for the title and will next face eighth seed Qinwen Zheng. She is chasing her third WTA 1000 title of the season after triumphs in Miami and Madrid.
Coco Gauff also progressed with ease, dispatching Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 in just over an hour. The American faces teenager Mirra Andreeva in the last eight and could potentially meet Sabalenka in the semi-finals.
Elsewhere, Naomi Osaka’s comeback continues to stall after she lost a gruelling three-set encounter 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (7-4) to Peyton Stearns. Stearns will play Elina Svitolina next, after the Ukrainian cruised past Danielle Collins 6-4, 6-2 in searing heat.
