ROME:
Iga Swiatek came out of the Italian open on Saturday after the King Rome champion suffered a shock of 6-1, 7-5 defeat at Danielle Collins, as Jannik Sinner prepares for his return to action by a questionable doping ban.
The world number two Swiatek hunted a fourth title in Foro Italico, but failed to surpass the third round of the last big tournament before the French open after an unusual bad appearance against the quiet collins.
Collins veteran, 31, will now face one from Elina Svitolina or colleagues Hailey Baptiste over the last 16, as the world number 35 chases an unlikely second WTA 1000 title after winning Miami last year.
The early exit of the Swiatek is an important shock, as the pole usually dominates its opponents in clay and has an extremely impressive record in the Italian capital.
Her defeat is another worrying sign in front of Roland Garros, as she was also collapsed in straight sets by Coco Gauff in the Open Madrid semifinals earlier this month.
Swiatek was little recognizable by the player who won four open -minded open titles, was broken four times in the first set and failed to impose at all on Collins, against which he had earned eight of nine meetings.
The 23 -year -old’s elimination opens her side from the women’s tie with Naomi Osaka, who could be her opponent in the quarter -finals, taking over Marie Bouzkova later on Saturday.
Osaka, who still finds a form after a 15 -month break from tennis, will face the fifth Madison Keys seed in the last 16 if he passes Bouzkova.
The Italian star Sinner will take a full and party court on Saturday night against Mariano Navone of Argentina, hoping to expel spiders as he sees a run at Roland Garros later this month.
The world number one said before his first training in Rome that he was just hoping to overcome his second round conflict with Navone and see where his game is, after a forced three months on the sidelines.
Sinner has not moved a racket to a tournament since he is claiming Grand Slam’s third victory at the Australian Open in January, due to suspension agreed with the World Anti-Doping Service in February.
His rise to the top of the game in 2024, when he won eight titles, including the first two slams and the ATP finals, was abolished by the dispute that followed his two positive tests for closer traces last March.
Both the WADA and the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), who initially cleared the sinner in August, accepted that he was accidentally contaminated with the banned substance by his physiotherapist.
Fans in the Central Court received a first taste of joy from Matteo Berrettini born in Rome, Jacob Fearnley in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7/0) in his first race in the house tournament in four years.
The former Wimbledon Berrettini finalist, who retired from Open Madrid with the latter in a long series of abdominal injuries, will face Madrid champion Casper Ruud in the third round with Alexander Bublik 6-4, 4-6, 6-6, 6-6.
Andrey Rublev came out in Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan’s first attempt to continue his bad form since he won in Dubai in February.
The fourth seed Taylor Fritz also left 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/3) to colleague Marcos Giron.
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