Alcaraz raring to go; Swiatek, Jabeur make winning start

Carlos Alcaraz said he is back to his best for the Italian Open after suffering injuries last month while the Spaniard also welcomed back world number one Jannik Sinner, who is poised for a comeback on home soil after serving a doping suspension.

Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open last month after struggling with hamstring and groin injuries he had sustained during the Barcelona Open final, opting to take a break so he could recover well before his French Open title defence.

Alcaraz, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday, received a bye into the second round in Rome where he will play Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.

“I’m really happy to be here in Rome... The practices were great so far. I’m in a good shape, I’m 100% ready to start the tournament,” Alcaraz told reporters on Thursday.

“I couldn’t play Madrid. It was a special tournament for me... But I could play really good tournaments in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona, good matches. I stopped a little bit to try to recover from the injury, which I wasn’t worried (about) at all.

“Right now I have confidence... Obviously I would say the first round in every tournament is never easy, you have to get used to the conditions, the tournament, the court, everything. But I’m just excited, I can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Alcaraz is the third seed in Rome and the Spaniard said he hopes to meet Sinner in the final, with both players on opposite sides of the draw.

The Italian has remained world number one despite serving a three-month doping ban as the three-times Grand Slam champion prepares for his first match since winning the Australian Open in January.

“Honestly, I’m really happy to have him around again. It’s been three months. Obviously for him it was tough,” Alcaraz added.

“I think there isn’t a better place to come back than here in his home, for him here in Rome. I saw him, it is great for me, for tennis and for the fans to have him around again.

“I’m real happy to see him and his team around. I think I’m going to enjoy watching him playing again.”

Earlier, Iga Swiatek dismissed Elisabetta Cocciaretto in just 52 minutes as she opened her account at the Italian Open on Thursday.

World number two Swiatek came to Italy on the back of a demoralising straight-sets defeat to Coco Gauff in the semi-finals of the Madrid Open.

But the 23-year-old Pole dropped just a single game in winning 6-1, 6-0 against Italian Cocciaretto to move onto a third-round meeting with either American Danielle Collins or Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania.

“I felt like the ball was kind of listening to me today and I had full control over the match, so it’s always pretty comfortable to play a match like that,” Swiatek said.

“You just need to continue the work you’ve been doing and not expect that it’s going to happen more often.”

Swiatek is a three-time winner of the Italian Open and is using the claycourt tournament as a key step towards her defence of her French Open title, but she is yet to win a tournament this season.

In another second-round match, former world number one Naomi Osaka came from behind to overcome lucky loser Viktorija Golubic 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

Sixth seed Jasmine Paolini, cheered on by her home crowd, was a comfortable 6-4, 6-3 winner against Lulu Sun of New Zealand and will face Ons Jabeur in round three after the Tunisian benefited from a walkover against Petra Kvitova.

Men’s world number one Jannik Sinner will make his return to competition after a three-month doping ban by facing Mariano Navone on Saturday after the Argentinian beat Federico Cina 6-3, 6-3 on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner was just as surprised by which fellow players sent him messages of support at the start of his three-month doping ban as those who sent nothing.

The top-ranked player is returning to tennis at the Italian Open this week after his settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency raised questions, since it conveniently allowed Sinner not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.

“At the start of the suspension I received some surprising messages from some players, whereas there were others who I would have expected to hear from that didn’t send anything,” Sinner said. “But I’m not going to name names.”

Agencies