Sports

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic faced little resistance Thursday at the Italian Open, posting a 6-2, 6-2 win over Stan Wawrinka, who was playing only his second tournament after undergoing two surgeries on his left foot.

Djokovic needed just 1 hour, 14 minutes to finish off the match.

Djokovic, a five-time champion in Rome, will next play Felix Auger-Aliassime, who ended the run of American qualifier Marcos Giron with a 6-3, 6-2 victory. It will be the first meeting between Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime.

Later, 10-time Rome champion Rafael Nadal was playing Denis Shapovalov.

The loudest cheers of the day were for Jannik Sinner, the 20-year-old Italian competitor who beat Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 7-6 (6) to reach the quarterfinals for the first time at his home tournament.

Sinner will next face Stefanos Tsitsipas, who rallied past Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 for a tour-leading 29th win of the year.

Also, 2017 Rome champion Alexander Zverev, who is also coming off a run to the Madrid final, beat Alex De Minaur 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Zverev, who is still seeking his first title of the year, has his father and coach, Alexander, back on the circuit with him after a prolonged absence for reasons the family has kept personal.

When Zverev won the ATP Finals in November, his older brother and fellow pro, Mischa, was coaching him.

“I was missing a coach for six months. That’s what was missing,” Zverev said. “That’s why I took Sergi Bruguera on — because we didn’t quite know how long it would take my father to be back.

“I’m very happy for him to be back here. It gives me a certain calmness, a certain confidence as well, because he’s been there from the beginning of my career. I think nobody knows me better on the court than he does.”

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report

Articles You May Like

Internet searches for how to move abroad up by more than 1,000% after US election result
Indian CubeSat to Travel to the Moon Soon on Japanese Lander
Crypto businessman killed in shooting at Brazil’s busiest airport
Canada: Spying part of ‘unacceptable culture’
Oil state Azerbaijan is ‘perfectly suited’ to hosting climate summit, says man in charge