Alex de Minaur, Jannik Sinner win through at Italian Open after air force flyoverTopic:Tennis1h ago1 hours agoMon 12 May 2025 at 9:10pmAlex de Minaur regained his focus to power into a last-16 clash with 11-seeded American Tommy Paul. (Getty Images: Antonietta Baldassarre/Insidefoto/LightRocket)In short:Alex de Minaur and Jannik Sinner were among the winners on day eight of the Italian Open, both reaching the round of 16 without dropping a set.Injury-plagued local favourite Matteo Berrettini was playing his home Masters for the first time in four years but was forced to retire with an abdominal injury for the second straight tournament.What's next?Australian number one de Minaur and world number one Sinner will face off in the semifinals if they both win their next two matches.abc.net.au/news/alex-de-minaur-jannik-sinner-win-italian-open-rome-masters/105285046Link copiedShareShare articleAn overhead in tennis normally means being lobbed but it was a different aerial intervention that troubled Alex de Minaur in Rome.The Australian number one was progressing well towards the last 16 despite the distraction of an unwell spectator when his match with Bolivian lucky loser Hugo Dellien was interrupted by a flyover by the Italian Air Force's acrobatic team, the Frecce Tricolori (Tricolour Arrows).The seventh-seeded de Minaur lost focus, and his serve, before getting back on track to win 6-4, 6-4."I didn't handle it very well, because I got broken straight away," said de Minaur who now plays 11th-seeded American Tommy Paul."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."A number of early matches were disrupted by a flyover by the Frecce Tricolori. (Getty Images: Claudio Pasquazi/Anadolu)Also seeking to regain focus is Jannik Sinner, who is making his comeback after his controversial three-month doping ban.The world number one 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 in front of his home crowd.Sinner raced to 4-1 but then lost his serve twice as de Jong evened the set at 4-4.There were poor drop shots, an inopportune double fault and other errors from Sinner, but he regained control with his powerful groundstrokes and big serve to extend his winning streak to 23 matches, dating to October.Jesper de Jong took a tumble in the second set but carried on. (Getty Images: Silvia Lore)Just like in his opening win over Mariano Navone on Saturday, the fans at the Foro Italico were fully behind Sinner — Italy's first world number one."It's good to have him back," de Minaur's next opponent Paul said of Sinner, after beating Tomáš Macháč 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4."He's such a big figure in the sport. He sets the bar right now."The last Italian man to win in Rome was Adriano Panatta in 1976.Sinner next faces 17th-seeded Francisco Cerundolo, who beat Austrian qualifier Sebastian Ofner 6-2, 6-4, with a semifinal clash with de Minaur looming if both win their next two matches.ABC Elite Athletes in Australian Women's Sport Survey: We want to hear from youPhoto shows A stylised graphic with three silhouettes of unidentified a female footballer, tennis player, basketballerABC Sport and Deakin University have partnered to produce the first ABC Elite Athletes in Australian Women’s Sport Survey.Another Italian favourite, Matteo Berrettini, was reduced to tears as he was forced to retire when 7-5, 2-0 down against sixth-seed Casper Ruud, due to the same abdominal injury that forced him out of the last tournament in Madrid.Berrettini had not been fit to play in Rome for four years."I feel so bad for him because this is where he's from, his home Masters 1000," said Ruud, who signed the camera 'Sorry Matteo. Feel better!'.On the women's side of the draw, Coco Gauff and Qinwen Zheng easily handled former US Open stars Emma Raducanu and Bianca Andreescu, respectively.Local favourite Jasmine Paolini took down Jeļena Ostapenko, and Naomi Osaka was knocked out in a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4) classic against American Peyton Stearns.Top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka also withstood a fierce challenge from Ukraine's Marta Kosytuk, 6-1, 7-6(8).The ABC of SPORTSports content to make you think... or allow you not to. 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