ROME — After a wait of more than 100 days, Jannik Sinner still knows how to win a tennis match.
The top-ranked player on the ATP Tour made a solid return from his three-month doping ban by beating 99th-ranked Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4 before an adoring home crowd at the Italian Open on Saturday.
It was Sinner’s first match since he won his third Grand Slam singles title at the Australian Open in January. He said it took him all of three games to get his competitive focus back.
“Amazing feeling. I have waited quite long for this moment,” Sinner said. “I am very happy to be back.”
There weren’t too many signs of rust, and it didn’t take long for Sinner to start crushing his groundstrokes on or near the lines. When the 23-year-old Italian broke for a 3-1 lead in the first set, the crowd inside Campo Centrale sang “Ole, ole, ole, Sin-ner, Sin-ner.”