ATP Rome: Jannik Sinners downs Stefanos Tsitsipas. Grigor Dimitrov, Cilic advance

A year after scoring his first Masters 1000 victory in front of the home fans in Rome, the 19-year-old Jannik Sinner added another one, beating the 3rd seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 in two hours and 13 minutes. Tsitsipas toppled Sinner in Rome 2019 but the Italian has learned the lesson ahead of this clash, winning almost 30 points more to secure the second top-10 triumph. Jannik lost serve twice from three break chances offered to Stefanos, earning seven breaks from 14 opportunities to control sets one and three and advance into the third round. Sinner had 27 winners and 39 unforced errors, leaving the Greek on 16 winners and almost 60 errors as he couldn't find his best tennis in sets he lost. A teenager had the upper hand in the opener, dropping two points on serve and delivering three breaks for 6-1 in 30 minutes. Tsitsipas suffered a break in the first game following a forehand winner from Sinner, which is never a good sign.

Jannik wasted two more break opportunities in the third game before winning four straight points in game five to open a 4-1 gap. From 40-15 up in game seven, Tsitsipas gave serve away for the third time after a double fault, having to raise his level if he wanted to challenge an inspired rival. Jannik secured a break in game two in the second set, racing into a 5-2 advantage and serving for a commanding triumph in game nine. Out of sudden, Stefanos broke back and leveled the score at 5-5, serving for the set in game 12 after another break. Sinner erased the deficit in the last moment to reach a tie break that saw 20 points, with Tsitsipas fending off two match points at 6-7 and 8-9 and stealing the breaker 11-9 after a massive forehand error from Jannik. Like that second set never happened, Sinner took charge in the decider, rattling off 16 straight points on serve and stealing Tsitsipas' serve in games one and three to forge the crucial advantage.

Jannik Sinner had the upper hand in sets one and three to beat Stefanos Tsitsipas.

The Italian broke in the first game with a cracking forehand down the line winner, clinching another break at 2-0 and holding at love for another big step towards the win. Jannik produced another hold at love in game six after three winners, sealing the deal with another hold at love at 5-2 for the place in the last 16. Filip Krajinovic toppled Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 6-1 in 76 minutes, losing eight points in eight service games and keeping the pressure on the other side. Cecchinato was miles away from that pace, giving away almost half of the initial shot points and suffering four breaks to carry the Serb over the top.

The 4th seed Matteo Berrettini ousted a qualifier Federico Coria 7-5, 6-1, getting broken once while serving for the opener and fixing that to reign in the rest of the clash and remain on the title course. The 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov stormed over Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1, 6-0 in 55 minutes, dropping one point behind the first serve and stealing almost 70% of the return points for complete domination. Grigor had 17 winners and 13 unforced errors, leaving Nishioka behind in the shortest and mid-range exchanges to seal the deal in under an hour. Marin Cilic defeated David Goffin 6-2, 6-2 in 70 minutes in another one-sided clash, experiencing no break points and securing half of the return points for two breaks in each set and a comfortable victory. 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/35FqxfD