Jannik Sinner is celebrated like a pop star in Rome. © APA/afp / PIERO CRUCIATTI

Now Sinner knows his comeback opponent

On January 25, Jannik Sinner played his last tennis match on the ATP Tour. Back then, he defeated Alexander Zverev in the final of the Australian Open. On Saturday, the world No. 1 makes his comeback – and now he also knows his opening opponent.

08 May 2025

From: dl

Jannik Sinner will face Argentinian Mariano Navone (ATP 99) on Rome's Center Court on Saturday (time not yet announced). The 24-year-old defeated 18-year-old Italian rising star Federico Cinà (ATP 323) in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 in the first round on Thursday afternoon.

The duel between Sinner and Navone has never taken place before, even though they were both born in the same year (2001). Navone is considered a true clay-court specialist – which is typical for a tennis player from South America. Navone has yet to win a title at the ATP level, but he has won six Challenger tournaments. He won all of them on clay. This included the one last year in Cagliari, where he beat Lorenzo Musetti in the final.

Mariano Navone challenges Jannik Sinner in his comeback.

It will be interesting to see how Sinner fares 105 days after his last major tennis match. His home tournament in Rome and the one later in Hamburg are also considered preparations for the highlight of the clay-court season, the French Open in Paris. Sinner has yet to win the Masters in the Italian capital and will give it his all again this year. On Thursday, the Pustertal native trained with Casper Ruud, who recently triumphed in Madrid.