De Minaur progresses despite interruption by air aces

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De Minaur progresses despite interruption by air aces

An overhead in tennis normally means being lobbed but it was a different aerial intervention that troubled Alex de Minaur in Rome.

The *********** No.1 was progressing well towards the last 16 despite the distraction of an unwell spectator when his match with Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien was interrupted by a flypast by the Italian Air Force’s acrobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori (Tricolour arrows).

The seventh-seeded de Minaur lost focus, and his serve, before getting back on track to win 6-4 6-4.

“I didn’t handle it very well, because I got broken straight away,” said de Minaur who now plays 12th-seeded American Tommy Paul.

“I did well to bounce back and get the break back, but I’ve got to be a little bit better mentally to not let those things, outside factors affect me.”

Also seeking to regain focus is Jannik Sinner, who is making his comeback after his controversial three-month doping ban.

The world No. 1 overcame a brief lapse during the first set of a 6-4 6-2 victory over Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong in his second match back on tour in front of his home crowd.

Sinner raced to 4-1 but then lost his serve twice as De Jong evened the set at 4-4.

There were poor drop shots, an inopportune double fault and other errors from Sinner.

But he regained control with his powerful groundstrokes and big serve and extended his winning streak to 23 matches, dating to October.

Just like in his opening win over Mariano Navone on Saturday, the fans at the Foro Italico were fully behind Sinner — Italy’s first No. 1.

“It’s good to have him back,” de Minaur’s next opponent Paul said of Sinner, after beating Tomas Machac 6-3 6-7 (5-7) 6-4. “He’s such a big figure in the sport. He sets the bar right now.”

The last Italian man to win in Rome was Adriano Panatta in 1976.

Sinner next faces 17th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo, who beat Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 6-2, 6-4.

Another Italian favourite Matteo Berrettini was forced to retire when 7-5 2-0 down against sixth-seed Casper Ruud.

This followed retiring in Madrid with an abdominal injury. Berrettini had not been fit to play in Rome for four years.

“I feel so bad for him because this is where he’s from, his home Masters 1000,” said Ruud, who signed the camera ‘Sorry Matteo. Feel better!’ “I know he hasn’t played since 2021 because of other injuries.

There were also wins for Jakub Mensik, Hubert Hurkacz and Jaume Munar.

with AP

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