Jannik Sinner overcomes 'big drop' in level in 2nd match back from doping ban at Italian Open

ROME (AP) — Jannik Sinner is still regaining his focus on the tennis court after his three-month doping ban.

The top-ranked player overcame a brief lapse during the first set of a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Dutch qualifier Jesper De Jong in his second match back on tour at the Italian Open on Monday.

Sinner jumped out to a 4-1 lead but then lost his serve twice as the 93rd-ranked De Jong evened the first set at 4-4.

There were poor drop shots, an inopportune double-fault and other errors from Sinner. But the Italian regained control in front of his home crowd with his powerful groundstrokes and big serve and extended his winning streak to 23 matches, dating back to October.

“I felt like I started the match very well and then I had a big drop,” Sinner said. “I tried to understand what was going on. Then fortunately I broke him on 4-all again, which then gave me the confidence to continue.”

Sinner is into the last 16 of his first tournament since he won his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

In February, Sinner agreed to the three-month ban in a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised some questions, since it conveniently allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.

The Italian Open is the last big warmup before the French Open starts on May 25.

Just like in his opening win over Mariano Navone on Saturday, the fans at the Foro Italico were fully behind Sinner — Italy’s first No. 1.

Yelling “Vai Jannik” (“Go Jannik”) and singing his name, the crowd provided encouragement whenever Sinner needed it.

“It’s good to have him back,” 12th-ranked Tommy Paul said of Sinner after beating Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4. “He’s such a big figure in the sport. He kind of sets the bar right now.”

The last Italian man to win the Rome title was Adriano Panatta in 1976.

Sinner led De Jong 22-16 in winners and had fewer unforced errors than his opponent, 16-25 — after trailing in that category against Navone.

Sinner also served better, producing four aces.

Sinner will next face 17th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo, who beat Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 6-2, 6-4.

Cerundolo is coming off a run to the Madrid Open semifinals and beat Nicolas Jarry — last year’s Rome finalist — in straight sets in the opening round.

“Last time I played here, I lost against him here on this court,” Sinner said, referring to a three-set loss to Cerundolo in the round of 16 two years ago. “It’s going to be tough. For sure I have to raise my level if I want to play even. … I’m trying to understand where my game is so it’s going to be a good challenge, good test for me.”

De Jong fell to the clay when he lost his footing trying to reach a passing shot from Sinner in the second set and the Italian came across the net to check on him. Sinner fetched a towel for De Jong and wiped off the Dutchman’s racket handle.

De Jong then needed medical attention for his right wrist before resuming play.

Also reaching the fourth round was seventh-seeded Alex De Minaur, who beat Bolivian qualifier Hugo Dellien in a match that was interrupted twice during the first set — first when a spectator got sick and then because of a flyover by the Italian Air Force’s acrobatic team.

De Minaur was visibly frustrated by the flyover.

“I didn’t handle it very well, because I got broken straight away,” De Minaur said. “I did well to bounce back and get the break back, but I’ve got to be a little bit better mentally to not let those things, outside factors affect me.”

In the women’s round of 16, Coco Gauff routed Emma Raducanu 6-1, 6-2 in a matchup of former U.S. Open champions.

Peyton Stearns eliminated Naomi Osaka 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (4) after 2 hours, 41 minutes. Stearns also edged Australian Open champion Madison Keys in a third-set tiebreaker in her previous match.

Also, home favorite Jasmine Paolini beat 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Britain's Emma Raducanu looks down as she plays United States' Coco Gauff during their tennis match at the Italian Open at the Foro Italico, in Rome, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

United States' Coco Gauff serves a ball to Britain's Emma Raducanu during their tennis match at the Italian Open at the Foro Italico, in Rome, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Netherlands' Jesper De Jong returns the ball to Italy's Jannik Sinner during their tennis match at the Italian Open at the Foro Italico, in Rome, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Netherlands' Jesper De Jong during their tennis match at the Italian Open at the Foro Italico, in Rome, Monday, May 12, 2025. (Alfredo Falcone/LaPresse via AP)

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns the ball to Netherlands' Jesper De Jong during their tennis match at the Italian Open at the Foro Italico, in Rome, Monday, May 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market drifted through a mixed day of trading Tuesday after reports on the economy did little to clear uncertainty about where interest rates may be heading.

The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and remains a bit below its all-time high set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 302 points, or 0.6%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 0.2%.

Treasury yields eased in the bond market after one report said the U.S. unemployment rate was at its worst level since 2021, but employers also added more jobs last month than economists expected. A separate report, meanwhile, said an underlying measure of strength for revenue at U.S. retailers grew more in October than economists expected.

The mixed data meant little change in traders’ hopes that the Federal Reserve may continue to cut interest rates further in 2026. What the Fed does with interest rates is a top driver for financial markets because lower rates can boost the economy and prices for investments, even if they also may worsen inflation.

A report coming on Thursday will show how bad inflation was last month, and economists expect it to show prices for U.S. consumers continue to rise faster than anyone would like.

A report released on Tuesday after U.S. stocks began trading suggested price pressures are rising sharply, with average selling prices for businesses climbing at one of the fastest rates since the middle of 2022. The preliminary data from S&P Global also said growth for overall business activity slowed to its weakest level since June.

“Higher prices are again being widely blamed on tariffs, with an initial impact on manufacturing now increasingly spilling over to services to broaden the affordability problem,” according to Chris Williamson, chief business economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence.

On Wall Street, the sharpest losses came from companies in the oil business as prices for crude kept sliding.

Expectations that companies are pumping more than enough oil to meet the world’s demand have sent the price for a barrel of benchmark U.S. crude to its lowest level since 2021. It fell 2.7% Monday, as did Brent crude, the international standard. U.S. crude settled at $55.27 per barrel, while Brent settled at $58.92.

That drove APA’s stock down 5.2%. Marathon Petroleum sank 4.7% and Halliburton dropped 4.3% for some of Wall Street’s larger losses.

Artificial-intelligence technology stocks, meanwhile, were mixed after dominating the market in recent days.

Oracle rose 2%, and Broadcom added 0.4%. They both had dropped to sharp losses last week, even though both reported stronger profits for the latest quarter than analysts expected.

But CoreWeave, which rents out access to top-of-the-line AI chips, fell 3.9%.

Questions remain about whether all the spending underway on AI technology will produce the kind of profits and productivity that will make it worth the expense.

Elsewhere on Wall Street, Pfizer fell 3.4% after giving a forecast for profit in 2026 that was below what some analysts expected. Its forecast for revenue next year was close to analysts’ expectations.

Kraft Heinz added 0.7% after saying Steve Cahillane, who was most recently CEO of Kellanova, will join as CEO on Jan. 1. After Kraft Heinz splits into two companies, which is expected to happen in the second half of 2026, Cahillane will lead the one that will hold onto the Heinz, Philadelphia and Kraft Mac & Cheese brands.

All told, the S&P 500 fell 16.25 points to 6,800.26. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 302.30 to 48,114.26, and the Nasdaq composite rose 54.05 to 23,111.46.

In stock markets abroad, indexes fell across much of Europe and Asia.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.6% ahead of an expected hike to interest rates by the Bank of Japan later this week.

Other markets in Asia also had some of the world’s sharper swings. South Korea’s Kospi dropped 2.2%, while indexes fell 1.5% in Hong Kong and 1.1% in Shanghai.

In the bond market, the yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.14% from 4.18% late Monday.

AP Business Writers Matt Ott and Elaine Kurtenbach contributed.

Specialists Alex Weitzman, left, and Meric Greenbaum work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

A television displays a news conference with Fed chairman Jerome Powell on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Currency traders pass by a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), top center left, and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, top center, at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)