ATP Masters Rome: Jannik Sinner fixes second-round hit against Rafael Nadal, Kei Nishikori beats Fabio Fognini
In the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Rome, Rafael Nadal andJannik Sinner face an early duel between two absolute world-class players. So while Sinner took his first hurdle, his compatriot Fabio Fognini failed at the start.
by Nikolaus Fink
last edit: May 10, 2021, 03:23 pm
At the beginning of the season, Rafael Nadal and Jannik Sinner prepared together for the Australian Open in Adelaide, now the two of them will meet again in Rome. The 19-year-old South Tyrolean gave Ugo Humbert no chance in the first round of the classic clay court with a 6: 2 and 6: 4 success. The only duel so far last year at the French Open went to Nadal in three sets.
In addition to the world number three, the two players in front of him in the ATP charts also know their first opponents: The world number one Novak Djokovic meets Taylor Fritz, who beat Dan Evans 6: 4 and 6: 2. The Serb thus escaped a rematch with his Monte Carlo conqueror. Daniil Medvedev, however, has to deal with his compatriot Aslan Karatsev, who defeated Miomir Kecamnovic 7: 6 (2) and 6: 4.
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With Karen Khachanov, however, another Russian was unable to make it into the second round. The 24-year-old lost to Federico Delbonis 6: 3, 4: 6 and 0: 6. Things went better for Kei Nishikori, who surprisingly took local heroes Fabio Fognini out of the tournament 6: 3 and 6: 4.
Benoit Paire causes a stir again
In addition to Fognini, Benoit Paire, another "bad boy" of tennis, was in action on Monday in Rome - and the Frenchman once again lived up to his reputation in the first round match against Stefano Travaglia. With the score of 4: 6, 2: 2 and 15:15 from the 32-year-old's point of view, he was extremely angry about a decision by the referee Carlos Bernardes.
After a linesman saw Paires' first serve and Bernardes confirmed this impression, it became the world number 35. to colorful. He took a photo of the print and was not irritated by a warning: "If I have to, I'll pay the fine." It shouldn't help Paire, however, the game ultimately went to Travaglia 6: 4 and 6: 3.
Here the single tableau in Rome
rommap