Rome, May 12:Attempting to become the first local man to win the Italian Open in nearly a half-century, Jannik Sinner was nearly unbeatable on his serve in a 6-1, 6-4 win over Thanasi Kokkinakis in his opening match Friday.
Sinner won all 16 of his service points in the first set and 36 of 39 overall behind strong home support.
A group of five orange-clad fans in the upper deck on Campo Centrale were dressed as carrots, a tribute both to Sinner’s red — or nearly orange-colored — hair and to how he used to eat the vegetable on changeovers at the start of his career.
Sinner closed it out in style with a serve out wide and a swinging forehand volley winner into the open court on his second match point.
“I’m happy about my level today. It was not easy, it was a little bit breezy,” Sinner said. “I felt the ball very well.”
The last Italian to raise the trophy at the Foro Italico was Adriano Panatta in 1976. Raffaella Reggi won the 1985 women’s tournament in Taranto in 1985.
“It’s just a very special tournament for me,” he said. “I feel ready to compete. … I feel the fans’ affection. It’s positive pressure.”
Ranked a career-high No. 8 this week, Sinner’s third-round opponent will be either Russian qualifier Alexander Shevchenko or 40th-ranked Sebastian Baez.
Sinner is in the same half of the draw as six-time Rome champion Novak Djokovic, who was facing 61st-ranked Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the night session.
Sinner skipped the Madrid Open so he could better prepare for this tournament. He arrived in Rome early, which gave him plenty of time to tinker with his game.
“We definitely worked a lot on the serve. We also changed a few things. It feels a bit improved but obviously it’s still not a perfect serve,” Sinner said, noting that he’s trying to improve his timing by lowering his ball toss.
“I’m working on everything a bit, but most of all my serve, which is perhaps the shot I need to improve the most,” Sinner said. “Also all the touch shots and slice, and rhythm changes.”
Also on the red clay courts, Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin wore down Felix Auger-Aliassime over more than three hours for a 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory — leaving the 10th-ranked Auger-Aliassime still without a win on clay this season.
Francisco Cerundolo eliminated Wu Yibing 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 and Cameron Norrie defeated Alexandre Muller 6-2, 6-3.
In women’s action, top-ranked Iga Swiatek opened her bid for a third straight Rome title with an emphatic 6-0, 6-0 rout of former French Open finalist Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova for her 12th consecutive win in the Italian capital.
“I feel pretty confident here,” Swiatek said. “I feel like these are the right circumstances and right conditions for me to play my solid game.”
Paula Badosa defeated Ons Jabeur, last year’s runner-up, 6-1, 6-4; and ninth-seeded Maria Sakkari beat Barbora Strycova 6-1, 6-3. (AP)
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