Shocking turn: Jannik Sinner’s Italian Open campaign gets a game-changing break after one match

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Jannik Sinner has made a strong start at the Italian Open, where he’s widely seen as the leading candidate to take home the title.

Sinner took down Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4 in his first match of the event, coming in as the number one seed.

The local support has been unmistakable in Rome, with fans turning out in force as Sinner chases what would be his fifth ATP title of the 2026 campaign.

He’s also just picked up his fifth straight Masters 1000 trophy at the Madrid Open, adding to what’s already an impressive run of form.

The path looks even clearer now after his latest win. While Sinner won’t have to worry about Djokovic or Alcaraz, there’s still a real possibility of facing another rising star before it’s all said and done.

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Jannik Sinner handed a fortunate Italian Open draw

Sinner was handed a tricky potential draw in his home tournament, but the difficulty of his pathway to the title has already been significantly reduced.

One of Sinner’s possible third-round opponents, Jakub Mensik, went out early, falling to Alexei Popyrin. In the next round, Arthur Fils was expected to be waiting for him, but an injury forced the Frenchman to retire early against Andrea Pellegrino.

Further along in the draw, Ben Shelton—projected as a quarterfinal opponent—also crashed out early, losing to Nikoloz Basilashvili. And what would have been a semifinal matchup with Felix Auger-Aliassime is off the table, too, after he lost to Mariano Navone.

To cap off a series of unexpected results that could clear Sinner’s path even more, Novak Djokovic was eliminated by Dino Prizmic in what might be one of the biggest surprises of this year’s tournament.