Jannik Sinner came out of the proverbial gate in his second match back from his three-month-long suspension for two failed drug tests in March 2024. His seemingly poor opponent, Jesper de Jong, was only a slight road bump on the Italian's path to his first Italian Open title. Sinner led 4-1 and had broken de Jong twice.
Then things changed quite a bit. Shockingly, de Jong got the breaks back to even the first set at 4-all. There is intense pressure on Sinner in Rome for various reasons, and one had a right to question whether he would wilt under de Jong's suddenly surprising form.
The Dutch player's problem is that he had an exceedingly difficult time holding serve. He moved well and used his forehand with power, but Sinner is becoming one of the best returners in decades. He got a third break of de Jong and held serve to take the first set 6-4.
Jannik Sinner struggles a bit but defeats Jesper de Jong in Rome
Against a player with a better serve, Sinner might have been in real trouble. He had to be confident that he would likely get the break back even if he did not hold service himself. That was good for this match, but the seemingly rusty Sinner must do better moving forward.
Perhaps his first match at the Italian Open, and his first match in three months, was driven by adrenaline. He did not appear out of form in easily defeating Mariano Navone. De Jong only made it to the tournament's third round because he was the lucky loser from qualifying. Sinner should not have had too many issues.
He didn't at the beginning, but the match turned out not to be one he would want to watch many times in the future. He hit well, but had far too many unforced errors. It's not that the stat sheet will show that, but he missed easy shots that he usually does not.
Sinner got another early break in the second set to lead 3-1, but with de Jong serving to try to get to 3-2, the Dutch player had a bad fall and hurt his wrist. He did continue after a medical analysis and won the game. Thinking he would be able to play through the injury and take the match was something entirely different.
Sinner finished off the match 6-4 6-2. He will next play Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round, which promises to be a difficult match for the Italian. Cerundolo's best surface is clay, and he had a fourth-round victory over Sinner in the Italian Open in 2023.