Tennis news: Brit exits Italian Open as Naomi Osaka issues emotional statement

Jannik Sinner confessed that he questioned whether he could get back to winning ways while serving his three-month suspension.

The world No. 1's ban was lifted on Sunday, May 4 and he played his first match in more than three months against Mariano Navone on Saturday night, winning 6-3 6-4.

Afterwards, Sinner was asked if he had doubts during his time away from the sport.

“Of course. It's normal to have doubts. Would be strange to not have any doubts. Would sound very arrogant, no?” he replied.

“I have doubts. I had doubts before going on court today. I have doubts now what's going to happen in the next match.

“But we have to live with doubts because it means that you really care, that you want to improve, that you want to show yourself, that you want to do something special. So I believe every one of us has daily doubts.”

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Saturday's matches have all concluded at the Foro Italico but there's plenty more action to come.

Below is the full order of play for Sunday's singles matches:

CAMPO CENTRALE from 10am UK time

Sabalenka vs Kenin

Musetti vs Nakashima

Gaubas vs Zverev

NIGHT SESSION from 6pm UK time

Noskova vs Andreeva

Djere vs Alcaraz

GRAND STAND ARENA from 10am UK time

Fils vs Tsitsipas

Gauff vs Linette

Rybakina vs Andreescu

Passaro vs Khachanov

Frech vs Zheng

SUPERTENNIS ARENA from 10am UK

Popyrin vs Medvedev

Raducanu vs Kudermetova

Draper vs Kopriva

Navarro vs Tauson

PIETRANGELI from 10am UK time

Fernandez vs Kostyuk

Moutet vs Rune

No. 3 seed Jessica Pegula became the latest top player to fall victim to an upset on Saturday.

After the likes of Iga Swiatek, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton crashed out of the Italian Open, Pegula suffered defeat in the last match of the day on Campo Centrale.

Elise Mertens, the 25th seed, sent Pegula packing with a 7-5 6-1 victory.

Mertens has been something of a bogey player for the American, and she improves her record to 4-1 over Pegula.

Alex de Minaur confronted a spectator who was sitting in the front row of his match against Luca Nardi.

The Aussie was serving at 4-4 in the second set when he abandoned his motion and walked over to the stands, asking the fans to own up.

The umpire quickly stepped in, calling for security before coming off his chair to tell the spectator in question they would be kicked out if things carried on.

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Hugo Dellien, a former world No. 64 who now sits outside of the top 100, thought his time at the Italian Open was over when he lost in the second round of qualifying on Tuesday.

But just days later he got a lifeline, getting into the main draw as a lucky loser when 26th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime pulled out hours before his opening match on Saturday.

Dellien got the call-up and he made the most of his second chance, coming from a set down to beat Thiago Seyboth Wild 4-6 6-3 6-4. Now he's through to the third round.

Jannik Sinner has spoken out after playing his first match back from a three-month ban.

The world No. 1 beat Mariano Navone 6-3 6-4 and admitted he was surprised with his level, even if he wasn't back to his best yet.

"Yeah, I was surprised myself with how things can change so quickly as I tried to give everything I have. I think that’s the only thing I can do, that’s the only thing I can control right now," he said.

"But the sensation has been quite good to be honest. It can be of course some ups and downs, it’s normal.

"Also he played some great tennis, especially when he broke me in the second set. Trying to accept that and trying to work again. Now I have some good feedback and hopefully I can work on that."

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Jannik Sinner has won his first match back from a three-month suspension.

The world No. 1 eased past Mariano Navone 6-3 6-4 to reach the third round in Rome.

It wasn't his best match but his ability to seal a straightforward victory immediately after serving a ban will send a message to the rest of the tour.

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Naomi Osaka came from a set down to beat Marie Bouzkova in her third-round match, sealing a 4-6 6-3 6-3 victory.

The former world No. 1 hit a staggering 53 winners during the two-hour and 26-minute clash, to 38 unforced errors.

Osaka is through to the round-of-16 in Rome for the second year running.

Iga Swiatek claimed she had been doing something wrong after going out in the third round of the Italian Open.

The Pole was the defending champion in Rome but she suffered a 6-1 7-5 defeat to Danielle Collins - her earliest exit at a WTA 1000 event since 2021.

Swiatek needed a few hours to regroup before addressing the media and she admitted something needed to change.

"For sure it hasn't been easy. For sure I'm doing something wrong. So I need to just regroup and kind change some stuff. I had some advice from the team. I'll just try to do this," she said.

"Everybody from my team, we talked and came to some conclusions. So yeah, I'm just going to change my mindset a little bit."

Jannik Sinner has stepped out onto Campo Centrale - the centre court at the Italian Open - for his first match back after serving a three-month suspension.

The world No. 1 has not played a match since defending his Australian Open title in January.

He accepted a ban as part of a case-resolution agreement with WADA in February, which ran from February 9 to May 4.

The stands in the arena were packed as Sinner returned in front of a home crowd and the crowd erupted as he emerged from the tunnel.

Felix Auger-Aliassime has shared an update after pulling out of the Italian Open moments before his first match.

The Canadian was due to face Thiago Seyboth Wild but he withdrew and was replaced by lucky loser Hugo Dellien.

On social media, Auger-Aliassime wrote: "Hello everyone. After a good week of practice here in Rome, I unfortunately blocked my back this morning during my warm up.

"Due to this, I was unable to play my match this afternoon and am currently having the issue assessed.

"Hopefully, it’s nothing too bad and won’t keep me off the court for long. Grazie Roma and see you next year!"

The Italian Open tournament ground is in a unique position, sitting just steps away from Lazio's home ground, the Stadio Olimpico.

It means things can get busy and loud inside the Foro Italico, and that's been the case this evening as Lazio take on Juventus.

While the tennis players on Saturday's schedule have to stay locked in, Carlos Alcaraz, who is enjoying a day off, has made the most of the short walk to the Stadio Olimpico and gone to watch the game.

Coco Gauff survived a scare to beat teenage qualifier Victoria Mboko in her opening match on Friday night.

The 18-year-old Canadian has been making waves on the ITF circuit this year and announced herself on the big stage when she breezed through the opening set against Gauff before losing 3-6 6-2 6-1.

Although Mboko is still an up-and-comer on the tour, Gauff was well aware that the teenager would be a threat, admitting she started following her rise earlier this year.

"First I saw her [at the] Miami Open. I didn't know much about her before, but I've been following her since Miami," Gauff said.

"I think she's a great player. I knew it was going to be a tough match.

"Yeah, like the ranking difference looks different, but she's playing top-level tennis. I approached the match that way. It's not a case of underestimation.

"I knew she was going to come out there and play great. Maybe I psyched myself out a little bit in the first set."

Danielle Collins caused a huge upset when she took out defending champion Iga Swiatek in the third round.

Swiatek has been struggling for form of late, and it's been almost a year since she reached a final at any tournament.

After the match, Collins was asked whether she noticed anything different in Swiatek, but she refused to poke holes in her opponent's game.

"Yeah, I think there's definitely some things that stand out. Yeah, we all know where I stand with certain things," the American said.

"So I don't intend to visit those areas of her game or criticise what she's doing, so... This isn't the forum to do that."

There have been some injury withdrawals at the Italian Open.

Germany's Laura Siegemund, who got into the main draw as a lucky loser and won her opening match, pulled out ahead of her clash with Jelena Ostapenko. It means the 17th seed advances via walkover.

In the men's draw, Felix Auger-Aliassime has pulled out ahead of his showdown with Thiago Seyboth Wild.

Auger-Aliassime got a bye directly into the second round as the 26th seed but could not take to the court. He has been replaced by lucky loser Hugo Dellien.

It's been a day full of upsets at the Foro Italico on Saturday.

Not only has reigning champion and world No. 2 Iga Swiatek gone out in the third round, but fifth seed Madison Keys suffered defeat to Peyton Stearns.

In the men's draw, world No. 4 Taylor Fritz lost to countryman Marcos Giron while qualifier Sebastian Ofner toon out 15th seed Frances Tiafoe, and 16th seed Andrey Rublev lost to giant killer Fabian Marozsan.

Iga Swiatek hasn’t been happy with her recent form and ahead of the Italian Open she was forced to deny rumours that she intends to skip Wimbledon this year.

The Pole has just been dumped out of the Italian Open by Danielle Collins, with the American winning their clash 6-1, 7-5.

Elsewhere, Marcos Giron has beaten Taylor Fritz 7-6, 7-6, while Sebastian Korda has overcome Aleksandar Vukic 6-3, 6-4.

Italian Open star Lorenzo Musetti had a post-match interview crashed by his one-year-old son Ludovico after getting the better of Otto Virtanen in Rome. The 23-year-old booked a second-round showdown with Brandon Nakashima after overcoming Virtanen 6-3, 6-2.

Musetti sat down for a chat with the Tennis Channel following his victory over Virtanen and was watched by his son, who was being looked after just off camera.

The presenter said he was “getting a big smile” from Ludovico and labelled the youngster a “big star”.

The interview soon took a backseat as the camera panned to the boy, who was wearing a jumper with a blue truck on the front of it.

Musetti then held his son’s hand and waved to him as he kept hold of the microphone with his other hand. And the tennis player exclaimed: “He wants the mic.”

British hopeful Jacob Fearnley has been knocked out of the Italian Open by Matteo Berrettini. The Italian secured a straight sets victory as he saw off his rival 6-4, 7-6 in a closely-fought contest.

Meanwhile, Madison Keys has been beaten by compatriot Peyton Stearns, while Tommy Paul has come out on top against Roberto Bautista Agut.

Coco Gauff was full of praise for her young opponent after surviving a massive scare at the Italian Open. Teenage star Victoria Mboko has been making waves on the ITF circuit this year and she came through qualifying to reach the main draw in Rome, setting a mouthwatering second-round clash with the No.4 seed.

The 18-year-old looked to be on her way to pulling off a huge upset when she broke Gauff three times in the first set and eventually took it 6-3. But the American stormed back to win 3-6 6-2 6-1 and shared a classy message to Mboko at the net.

“Keep your head up, okay? You did great,” Gauff told the 18-year-old, patting her on the shoulder.

Naomi Osaka has admitted she went through “sad times” when she was filming her Netflix documentary. The Japanese star was followed by the Netflix cameras throughout 2019 and 2020 and won two Grand Slam titles during that period.

“That was at a really turbulent time in my life... I think there was a lot of sad times, and then happy times,” she explained.

“I think if I look back on that period of my life with the documentary, it was just me trying to figure myself out.”

Taylor Fritz's influencer girlfriend has shamelessly admitted to capitalising on his success to increase her own popularity. The one-time US Open finalist has been dating Morgan Riddle for around five years. She is regularly spotted in his box during matches and often films content for her online platforms as they travel around the world for events.

Riddle has gained a significant fanbase on social media since she started dating Fritz in 2020. She has nearly half a million followers on Instagram and even more on TikTok. Her profile on YouTube is less popular but the 27-year-old still caters to a huge audience of more than 107,000 subscribers.

Over the years, Riddle has often been accused of using Fritz's fame to boost her own career. She addressed those claims during a recent appearance on the Tell Me More podcast, where she raised eyebrows by brazenly admitting to the act.

"People say that I am capitalising off of his career," said Riddle. "And I'm like, 'Yep, you know what? I am'. And he's okay with that. And I'm okay with that because, you know, it's a partnership."

Grandstand

Now | Madison Keys vs Peyton Stearn

Est 11.30am | Taylor Fritz vs Marcos Giron

Est 1pm | Jakub Mensik vs Matteo Gigante

Est 4pm | Marie Bouzkova vs Naomi Osaka

Est 5.30pm | Luca Nardi vs Alex de Minaur

Centrale

Now | Matteo Berrettini vs Jacob Fearnley

Est 12pm | Danielle Collins vs Iga Swiatek

Est 1.30pm | Jasmine Paolini vs Ons Jabeur

Est 6pm | Jannik Sinner vs Mariano Navone

Est 7.30pm | Elise Mertens vs Jessica Pegula

Women’s singles

Aryna Sabalenka beat Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 6-2

Coco Gauff beat Victoria Mboko 3-6, 6-2, 6-1

Qinwen Zheng beat Olga Danilovic 6-1, 6-4

Elena Rybakina beat Eva Lys 7-6, 6-2

Emma Raducanu beat Jil Teichmann 6-2, 6-2

Men’s singles

Carlos Alcaraz beat Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-3

Alexander Zverev beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1

Jack Draper beat Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-4

Daniil Medvedev beat Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-2

Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Alexandre Muller 6-2, 7-6

Bianca Andreescu, who won the US Open in 2019, has opened up about quitting alcohol. The Canadian will face Elena Rybakina in the third round of the Italian Open after winning her first two matches in Rome.

“Being in Rome now, it’s so freakin’ difficult,” Andreescu told the WTA website. “But I know that it makes me feel good. I haven’t touched alcohol in six months. Six months sober, and I’m going to continue with that.”

She added: “A lot of people have been complimenting my body. I’m becoming leaner too with age but, for me, most of my injuries have come from being a bit too overweight. Too much stress on my joints and ligaments. Becoming lean has been one of my main goals.”

Emma Raducanu was put on the spot about her coach Mark Petchey during a chat with Prakash Amritraj for Tennis Channel.

Raducanu began working with Petchey, who also appears as a commentator on the Tennis Channel, earlier this year

“I know he's on your team. He's been very influential. You can tell us, has he been useful at all? Has he contributed?” Prakash asked in a sarcastic manner.

And Raducanu replied: “I'm not biased, but I love hearing him commentate. I think he's a great commentator, someone that I actually want to listen to, because sometimes I watch tennis and I have to mute it. With him I love hearing what he has to say, he's very interesting.”

Jannik Sinner has been warned by former Grand Slam quarter-finalist Brad Gilbert that he needs to be careful to avoid injury on his return to tennis. The 23-year-old will take on Mariano Navone at the Italian Open later today after completing his three-month suspension from tennis.

“They have to be careful when they come back that they don’t go too hard - you don’t want to get hurt,” Gilbert told the Tennis Channel.

“But I expect by Paris [the French Open] that he is going to be ready and he will be one of the top three favourites to win that tournament.”

Good morning and welcome to our live tennis blog as the Italian Open matches come thick and fast. Grab a coffee and stay tuned for the latest tennis updates throughout the day.