PARIS – World No. 1 Jannik Sinner may need some time to regain his rhythm following a three-month doping ban, but he will be in peak form by the time he competes at the French Open, according to Italy’s Davis Cup captain Filippo Volandri.
World number one Aryna Sabalenka, meanwhile, cruised into the Stuttgart Open semi-finals while two-time champion Iga Swiatek lost to Jelena Ostapenko for the sixth time in as many meetings.
Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova continued her underdog run through the Stuttgart Open by dumping out world No 3 Jessica Pegula in straight sets.
Sabalenka reached the last eight without striking a ball following a bye and walkover, and took time to find her rhythm against Elise Mertens before wrapping up a 6-4, 6-1 victory.
Mertens broke for a 4-3 lead in the opening set but Sabalenka hit back right away and reeled off nine of the final 10 games to power into a semi-final showdown with Coco Gauff or Jasmine Paolini, AFP reported.
A beaten finalist three times in a row from 2021 to 2023, Sabalenka has never won in Stuttgart.
However, the Belarusian won’t have to contend with Swiatek — who beat her in the last two of those finals — after the second-ranked Pole suffered another defeat by the unpredictable Ostapenko.
Ostapenko, ranked 24 in the world, won 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in a clash of past and present French Open champions.
Swiatek has now lost all six matches against the Latvian, with Saturday’s defeat the first on clay.
Swiatek came into the match with an 11-1 record on the Stuttgart clay. But Ostapenko won the first four games and broke Swiatek’s serve three times to win the opening set.
Swiatek fought back to send the match to a deciding set, but Ostapenko regained control, winning 12 of the opening 15 points on the way to victory.
Alexandrova continued her underdog run by dumping out third seed Jessica Pegula in straight sets, 6-0, 6-4.
Pegula reached the final at the Miami Open in March and won the Charleston Open earlier in April but did not have an answer against her 22nd-ranked opponent, who knocked out Mirra Andreeva in the last 16.
After failing to win a game in the first set, Pegula saved three match points at 5-2 down in the second. She fought off two more at 5-4 but could not hold on.
Alexandrova’s five WTA top 10 wins are the equal most in 2025 with Andreeva and Australian Open champion Madison Keys.
Alexandrova, who knocked out rising star Mirra Andreeva in the last 16, beat the American 6-0, 6-4.
Pegula reached the final at the Miami Open in March and won the Charleston Open earlier in April but did not have an answer against her opponent, who is ranked 22nd in the world.
After failing to win a game in the first set, the 31-year-old American saved three match points at 5-2 down in the second. She fought off two more at 5-4 but could not hold on.
Alexandrova’s five WTA top-10 wins are the equal most in 2025 with Andreeva and American Madison Keys.
Holger Rune, meanwhile, crushed Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2 to reach the Barcelona Open final.
World number 13 Rune, who dispatched defending champion Casper Ruud in style, outclassed his opponent in the first set without conceding a break point.
The 21-year-old Dane broke to love in the seventh game and then broke again in the ninth to claim the first set in little over half-an-hour.
Khachanov, ranked 27th, suffered another break in the second game of the second set, with Rune consolidating for a 3-0 lead.
The Russian, 28, saved two break points in the sixth game but Rune broke again in the ninth, wrapping up his victory with a passing shot to reach the final for the first time.
“It was definitely a very good match from my side, I played very smart I think and put him under lots of pressure,” said Rune.
The Dane offered huge variety in his shots and hit 20 winners to 13 unforced errors.
“I knew I had to play well again, I was keeping my pace on my shots well, mixing it up well and doing most things right, so I’m very happy,” continued Rune.
