Jannik Sinner wins the derby against Andrea Pellegrino on center court at the Foro Italico and advances to the quarterfinals of the Internazionali d'Italia underway in Rome.
The world number 1 isn't in the extra-luxury mode that demolished Popyrin yesterday, leaving him a paltry two games down, but he prevailed 6-2, 6-3 in just under an hour and a half . The Italian, who hasn't lost since February, achieved yet another record, matching Novak Djokovic's sensational streak of 31 consecutive Masters 1000 victories, the best of all time . A win in his quarterfinal on Thursday would also distance the Serbian.
At 28, Pellegrino achieved his dream of playing on the centre court in Rome against the world number one. But it wasn't enough. While Sinner started like a rocket and quickly took a 4-0 lead, the Apulian player excelled at not giving up , holding strong in rallies from the baseline, and—against a less than stellar opponent—defending his service games. So much so that in the second set , Pellegrino found himself ahead 3-2, 15-30, with an easy forehand to finish off a splendid return that had Jannik struggling. But he missed, and the match ended with Sinner first holding serve and then never giving him another game.
Sinner faces Russian Andrei Rublev in the quarterfinals on Thursday, hoping to continue his quest for what would be his sixth consecutive Masters 1000 title, the only one missing from his impressive trophy cabinet . He also hopes to restore Italy's reign at the Internationals, exactly fifty years after Adriano Panatta's last triumph.
The day's feat, however, belonged to Luciano Darderi, who toppled the tournament's second seed, Alexander Zverev, 1-6, 7-6, 6-0 after saving four match points in the grueling second-set tiebreak. The Italian-Argentine player mounted a remarkable comeback, facing rising Spanish star Rafael Jodar in the quarterfinals , the last player capable of challenging Sinner, taking him to a tiebreak in Madrid.
Nothing doing, however, for Lorenzo Musetti, dominated by the Norwegian Casper Ruud, who gave him a real tennis lesson by defeating him 6-3, 6-1 in a one-sided match .
(Unioneonline/L)
