By: Grace Wang
After a 3 month doping suspension, tennis World Number 1 Jannik Sinner finds himself back on court at his home tournament, the Italian Open, in Rome. With an enthusiastic and vibrant crowd, it would be difficult for a neutral observer to not believe that they were welcoming back a hero. Yet, for the Italian crowd, they were.
As one of the most prolific Italian athletes, the return of Sinner was closely followed by the media for on and off the court reasons.
Based on his matches in Rome, no one would have guessed that he has not stepped on the court for three months. In fact, before this week, Sinner hasn’t played a professional tennis match since winning his third Grand Slam Down Under. With dominant wins and a particularly brutal thrashing of world number 6 Casper Ruud, who was coming off a big tournament win, it would be fair to assume that Sinner’s all-black outfit represents a funeral for the rest of the tour. Sinner is clearly in scary good form, and the rest of the tour should be praying that he won’t be on their side of the draw at the upcoming Grand Slam, the French Open.
He now plays in the final against Carlos Alcaraz, who handed Sinner 3 of his 6 losses last season. Their rivalry is building up to become one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history with their contrasting demeanors on court and closeness in age. Whatever the result, it’s great to see Sinner on the court again and playing incredibly well, and he should be considered a favorite for the second major of the year.