When it was announced that Jannik Sinner would be coming back to tennis ahead of the Italian Open, every tennis fan hoped to see Sinner against Alcaraz – and we got it. The final delivered the matchup everybody wanted to see, and it was interesting to say the least.
More on that below, but that’s not the only thing that happened. Keep reading to find out all the latest developments that unfolded in Rome, both on and off the court.
Champions corner
The men’s Italian Open final delivered us the most anticipated matchup in tennis, and it lived up to the hype. Sinner was slightly better initially, but when it mattered the most, Alcaraz was able to hold his nerve, saving set points in the opening set. After winning that set, Alcaraz easily outplayed Sinner to win the event, which was an impressive conclusion.
On the women’s side of the event, there were Italian celebrations as home favorirte Jasmine Paolini eased past Coco Gauff 6-4, 6-2 to lift the trophy. Paolini turned heads with her tennis last year, making back-to-back finals at the French Open and Wimbledon, and she’s showing this year that it wasn’t a fluke.
Many were sceptical whether a player who spent most of her career ranked outside of the top 50 was truly as good as her results indicated, and this win proves it’s real. She is that good, and will have something to say in Paris.
Jannik Sinner’s busy week in Rome
Many wondered what Sinner would be like upon his return in Rome. Not only did he amaze with his tennis, making the final and playing wonderfully, but he also had time to stop by the newly elected Pope for a private audience.
Sinner offered the Pope a chance to play some tennis, but he refused, citing the potential to break some marble in the Vatican. Overall, though, lots of sensational stuff from Sinner, whose suspension from tennis didn’t leave any negative effects.
Taylor Fritz, an honest hype man
Fritz has always prided himself as a player who speaks his mind, as he often does on social media, not mincing his words. He certainly didn’t mince his words when he hyped up Casper Ruud following his match with Jannik Sinner.
It was a beatdown from Sinner, who bested Ruud 6-0, 6-1, and Fritz chimed in on Instagram, telling Ruud that he was really close to winning.
“You almost had him,” said Fritz, as he once again proved himself as the most honest hype man around.
Zverev goes on a tirade or two
Alexander Zverev had a really good event in Rome last year when he won the event, but he didn’t have such a good time this year. Not only did he have a chilling exchange with a reporter earlier in the week, he also had plenty to complain about while losing to Lorenzo Musetti.
He admonished the tennis balls in use, tossing one to the tournament organizer in the stands while complaining to the umpire. He didn’t walk back his comments after the match either:
“The balls today were a real disaster, they were too big. We have been talking about this for the last three or four years, but the problem persists. We play with certain balls in Monte Carlo, Madrid, Munich, but we get to Rome and everything changes. Here, the balls are huge, they’re hard to move, hard to make them bounce off the racket.”
Djokovic and Murray part ways after six months
Novak Djokovic had the tennis world in shambles after announcing that Andy Murray would be his coach earlier this year. The partnership had tennis purists salivating, but it didn’t really work out as well. The Serbian went on to perform pretty lousy since then, failing to leave a huge impact outside of a good run in Miami.
Now, with two consecutive poor losses on clay, Djokovic and Murray have officially parted ways as the Serbian will try to assemble a new team to see what can be done in Paris. Time will tell what comes of it, but the issues Djokovic had weren’t tied as much to coaching.
Coming up this week
With Roland Garros only a week away, there isn’t going to be much happening in tennis this week. There are a couple of smaller events taking place, such as the event in Geneva, which will have Novak Djokovic play, for example.
The Serbian has had a weak clay season so far, so getting some more tennis in before the big one is something he might benefit from, to have any chances at the French Open. He played at the event last year as well. Outside of that, most players will slowly converge upon Paris and start practicing there, with the qualifiers happening as well.
Keep an eye out for the French Open draw which comes out on Thursday afternoon (CEST), and will reveal each title hopeful’s path in Paris.
