Jannik Sinner has finally returned to tennis after his three-month ban, winning his first match at the Italian Open.
Sinner is now on a 22-match winning run, having triumphed at the Australian Open before receiving his suspension.
And the ATP number one has now made a successful return to tennis, beating Mariano Navone in the second round of the Italian Open.
Sinner defeated the Argentine 6-3, 6-4 in the Italian capital to set up a third round meeting with Jesper De Jong.
The former is the top seed at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament, having retained his world number one ranking despite his absence.
Jannik Sinner shares social media message after tennis return at the Italian Open
Sinner received a very warm welcome from fans at the Italian Open, who turned up in huge numbers at Foro Italico.
And he has now returned the favour, sharing images of some fans and his match on X, accompanied by the translated message: “How nice. Thanks for yesterday.”
The three-time Grand Slam champion now has an 8-0 win-loss record for his 2025 season so far, with a 20th career ATP Tour title now being eyed at the Italian Open.
Jannik Sinner vs Mariano Navone Italian Open service stats
Sinner has doubts after returning to tennis, but he has made a strong start to life back on the ATP Tour after his absence.
The 23-year-old avoided a major upset against world number 99 Navone, and will now look to do the same against lucky loser De Jong.
READ MORE: Nick Kyrgios says what Jannik Sinner could do at the Italian Open which wouldn’t be a surprise
The Dutchman has, however, already pulled off a huge shock at the Italian Open, knocking out 25th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
| Jannik Sinner | Service stats | Mariano Navone |
| 281 | Serve rating | 252 |
| 1 | Aces | 0 |
| 1 | Double faults | 1 |
| 38/63 (60%) | First serve | 45/60 (75%) |
| 24/38 (63%) | 1st serve points won | 26/45 (58%) |
| 17/25 (68%) | 2nd serve points won | 8/15 (53%) |
| 2/3 (67%) | Break points saved | 4/7 (57%) |
| 10 | Service games played | 9 |
| 213km/h (132 mph) | Max speed | 202km/h (125 mph) |
But after knocking out Navone in one hour and 38 minutes, world number one Sinner is once again the favourite to progress on the clay courts of Rome.
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