Sabalenka fights past Kenin
Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka fought back from a set down against Sofia Kenin to advance at the Italian Open on Sunday. Kenin, the No. 31-seeded American, won the first set of the third round match 6-3, but Sabalenka powered back to take the next two sets by the same score.
US Open champion Sabalenka will play Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the next round.
After a wait of more than 100 days, Jannik Sinner still knows how to win a tennis match. The top-ranked player 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 on Saturday. It was Sinner’s first match since he won his third Grand Slam 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 Italian broke for 3-1 in the first set, the crowd inside Campo Centrale sang “Ole, ole, ole, Sin-ner, Sin-ner.”
