May 13 : The Italian Open quarter-final between Italy’s Luciano Darderi and Spain’s Rafael Jodar was interrupted in bizarre circumstances on Wednesday when smoke from fireworks at the neighbouring Stadio Olimpico drifted across the Foro Italico. Jodar was leading 6-5 in the opening set when thick clouds of smoke drifted onto the centre court from Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, where Inter Milan beat Lazio 2-0 in the Coppa Italia final, severely reducing visibility and briefly knocking out the tournament’s electronic line-calling system. Play was halted for almost 20 minutes as officials waited for conditions to improve and for the system to reset. Television images showed the court shrouded in haze, with players and spectators struggling to follow the action as smoke lingered above the clay. The late-night scenes added to a chaotic day in Rome after heavy rain earlier caused a delay of around two and a half hours, leaving players competing well into the evening. Source link

May 9 : Sorana Cirstea shocked top seed Aryna Sabalenka, beating her 2-6 6-3 7-5 in their third-round clash at the Italian Open on Saturday. The 36-year-old Romanian, who will retire later this year, beat a world number one for the first time. “I’m very happy with the win. I thought I played really well today. I’m working really really hard. It’s nice to have this result as payoff,” Cirstea said. Four-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka seemed to be struggling with an injury as the match progressed, and took a medical timeout when Cirstea was leading the third set 4-3. Cirstea won the next game but Sabalenka fought back to make it 5-5. But Cirstea broke again to serve for the match. Sabalenka, struggling with her backhand returns, hit the net and sent two shots over the baseline as Cirstea clinched victory. It was Cirstea’s second victory over Sabalenka in four meetings, having also prevailed in Miami in 2023, the first time they played each other. “Maybe if I win the tournament, I promise I …

May 8 : Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic stunned his childhood hero Novak Djokovic 2-6 6-2 6-4 in the second round of the Italian Open on Friday, as the Serbian struggled with exhaustion and backhand errors in his first match on clay this year. It was the first time Djokovic lost his opening match at the Italian Open in 19 appearances. The six-time champion, playing for the first time since March, took the first set but was outplayed by the increasingly aggressive 20-year-old who took control of the contest with powerful forehand winners. “Big respect for Novak, he’s my idol, so it was definitely a great match for me,” said Prizmic, who is 79th in the rankings. Prizmic, who beat Marton Fucsovics in the first round, raced to a 4-0 lead en route to winning the second set. The fourth-ranked Serb handed Prizmic the decisive break in the third set with two backhand errors. Prizmic held his nerves as he built on his 3-2 lead, and secured victory with an ace. “I played unbelievable. I just …