Jannik Sinner explains surprising stance on Italian Open defeat and its benefits for Roland Garros

Sinner is yet to drop a set or be broken in Rome in his matches against Sebastian Ofner and Alexei Popyrin, while some of the biggest players on the  ATP Tour drop out of the competition.

Carlos Alcaraz did not play the Rome event, while Novak Djokovic, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Ben Shelton, and Alex de Minaur all suffered early exits.

It doesn't look like anyone can stop Sinner at this point, but the Italian does not believe there is any pressure on him to win his home event for the first time in his career.

Speaking to The Tennis Channel, Sinner said he currently finds himself in a perfect situation at the Rome event, whether he wins or loses the tournament.

"It's a tournament that I haven't won. It's a very prestigious tournament, being Italian and I'm extremely happy to play here. I just try to do my best," he began.

"At the same time in any case, it's a win-win situation for me at the moment. If I go on it's great, but if I lose it's also great because I have a little bit more time to recover for Roland Garros, so I am a bit more relaxed."

Sinner has come close to winning the Italian Open in previous years, but he is yet to lift the Masters title. He reached the final of the tournament in 2025, but he was beaten by Alcaraz in straight sets.

Prior to his final appearance, Sinner produced a string of very inconsistent results in Rome. In his five appearances before 2025, Sinner's best result was a quarter-final appearance in 2022.

Sinner was knocked out of the competition by Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets, who would go on to lose to Djokovic in the final.

The Italian has suffered four early exits in Rome, losing in the second round twice, once in the third round, and another defeat in the fourth round.

It leaves Sinner was a surprisingly poor record at the Italian Open. Prior to the 2026 event, Sinner had won 70% of his matches at his home tournament.

That is his joint-worst Masters win-rate, alongside the Canadian Open, which he won in 2023.

The Italian Open remains the only Masters event Sinner is yet to win in his career, so he has plenty to play for in Rome.

If Sinner defeats Andreas Pellegrino in his fourth round match, his most likely opponent in the quarter-finals will be Andrey Rublev.

Rublev will be the seed Sinner plays at the Italian Open if he manages to navigate his way to the last eight of the Masters event. 

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