It was an incredible week of tennis at the historic Internazionali BNL d’Italia, a combined ATP and WTA 1000-level tournament which brought defining results on both sides of the draw, with the champion in the men’s field breaking history while the women’s victor pulled of a surprising upset victory to keep fans at the Foro Italico and millions viewing from home worldwide entertained. Let’s dive into all the action…
Sinner Seals History with Rome Trophy
Apart from the grand slams and the ATP Finals, the most prestigious trophies to lift are the nine Masters 1000 tournaments. Florida is lucky enough to be home to one: the Miami Open, and the eight others take the tour from Shanghai to Toronto over the course of the season. Getting your paws on this level of silverware is already an incredible milestone itself. But winning all nine? That’s almost unheard of. If there’s one predictable name you’d think of who could achieve this feat, you’re probably right if you thought of Novak Djokovic. He took home the set back in 2018, ten years after breaking a big barrier with his 2008 Australian Open win. But Jannik Sinner, who has only become a household name in the past few years, was able to do it at age 24. And let us not forget that he only won his first Masters 1000 in 2023, at the Canadian Open. Less than three years needed to complete this milestone, all while facing stiff competition from rivals like Carlos Alcaraz. That may be one of the most groundbreaking and exceptional stats of the sport.
“Darth Sinner,” as he is dubbed by media and fans, returned to the clay of Rome in an all-black fit, and he came meaning business. His first three hoops were not challenging—-unseeded Sebastian Ofner, Alexei Popyrin, and fellow Italian Andrea Pellegrino were all taken out in two sets. In the quarter finals, he encountered 12th seeded Andrey Rublev who typically makes consistent medium-length runs at top tier events, and finished him off with ease: 6-2, 6-4. Things got a little trickier in the semi-finals against a very unpredictable Daniil Medvedev. Let us not forget that Medvedev pushed Sinner to two tiebreaks in the Indian Wells final back in March, before sliding onto his least favorite surface in Monte-Carlo and suffering a 6-0, 6-0 defeat to unseeded Matteo Berrettini just a few weeks later. Despite the Russian’s self-publicized complicated relationship with the red clay, he is a former champion in Rome and was ready to make life difficult for Sinner.
Above: Jannik Sinner rips a backhand. Photo credit: HEAD.
The sound of the ball of Sinner’s strings is comparable to a shotgun, and that stayed true as he outplayed a rocky Medvedev on every level to win the first, 6-2. The Italian talented at taking the first set under his belt before metamorphosing into a steam engine and powering through the second. But with some scrappier tennis and by putting just a few extra balls in play, Medvedev stayed even with top seed and even bought himself a break of serve early on. When Sinner broke back, Medvedev stayed confident and was able to disrupt him at 6-5, with the Italian serving to force a tiebreak. A few blistering forehands down the line ended him with a crucial break and the second set, before a heavy cloud of rain set in and suspended their match to the following day with Sinner leading by a break in the third. Without much time to get into it, the Italian did what he needed and finished the job, 6-4 in the final set.
Sinner’s final test was clay-specialist and 23rd seed Casper Ruud, who played a very commendable match but was not able to break past the dominant 24-year-old. Sinner solved his way to victory by taking one break in the first set and one break in the second, and keeping thing steady on his own service to close it out, nice and consistent. The final score was 6-4, 6-4. With Alcaraz injured and the top seed status for Roland Garros, Jannik Sinner is the obvious and expected favorite heading into the season’s second slam which is just around the corner.
Svitolina Navigates Incredibly Crowded Waters to Claim an Astounding Victory in Rome
There may be no player who faced a harder draw than Elina Svitolina this past week in Rome, but somehow, the 7th seeded Ukrainian was able to come up with the goods to take down a variety of personalities who all posed significant challenges throughout across her six matches. This result comes after Svitolina lost in the opening round in Madrid to unseeded Anna Bondar in just two sets. But a week of rehabilitation was all it took to bring the 31-year-old back to form, and boy did she prove herself out there with some inspiring results.
Above: A very happy Elina Svitolina. Photo credit: Diadem Sports.
Svitolina’s first test was home hope Noemi Basiletti, the 327th ranked qualifier who took out two seeds in her first two matches before mustering up a respectable win against Ajla Tomljanovic in the Round of 128. Despite an early path of success, Basiletti was no match for Svitolina who came into the match firing on all cylinders. 300 ranking places separated them, and the Ukrainian let go of only four games in a 6-1, 6-3 victory to get things going at the Foro Italico. Even though this match wasn’t much of a test, Svitolina’s radar was already beeping with a dangerous opponent waiting in the second round: Hailey Baptiste. Baptiste, seeded 32nd, had just reached the semifinals of the Madrid Open by taking out Aryna Sabalenka in a fantastic fashion which included saving a total of six match points. But as proven, one week’s results does not always carry over into the next. Last week Svitolina struggled while Baptiste cruised, but this time around, the Ukranian was able seal it with another convincing win, 6-1, 6-2. In the third round, she faced Nikola Bartunkova who she sent packing, 6-2, 6-3. The easy period was over. Around the corner were three serious tests that just demonstrated what a competitor Elina Svitolina is.
2nd seed Elena Rybakina was waiting on the other side of the net in the quarterfinals, and anyone watching this one knew they were about to witness an exceptional display of ball striking. Rybakina got down to business immediately, winning the first set 6-2. Svitolina hung in there, and used one crucial break of serve to win the second and secure a final set showdown. She repeated step #2 to win the third, 6-4, and advance to the semis. This match was surely a bit uncomfortable, but paled in comparison to what followed in the later rounds. Next up was 4th seed and clay-court comfy Iga Swiatek. Svitolina got underway with a 6-4 first set victory. Swiatek dug her teeth into it in the second, taking it 6-2. But the momentum did not continue in the third, and Svitolina severely cut down on her unforced errors and improved her serve statistics to win it, 6-2. Onto the final.
The last challenge was 3rd seed Coco Gauff. Gauff has had a bit of a tumultuous season thus far, but she has found her home on clay in recent years. Last year, she won Roland Garros, and is obviously eager to defend her crown there this year, too. Right now, she’s in excellent form, and this showed in the final. Once again, Svitolina triumphed in the first, clinching it 6-4. Things were nail-biting in the second, as the two held even all the way into a tiebreak. Some inconsistency of Svitolina’s part let Gauff take the reigns, and she ran away with it with a score of 7-3 in points. All down to the final set. Much like the Swiatek match, Svitolina stayed grounded and did what she does best: identify and solve problems. She roared into the third, breaking Gauff early and running through the finish line, 6-2. While this is an incredible result for Svitolina which puts her in a pool of Roland Garros contestants, things will still be competitive at the top as slam #2 gets underway next week.
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Written by Will Turvey. Photo credits (top, right to left): HEAD / Diadem Sports.
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