Alex de Minaur, Jannik Sinner win through at Italian Open after air force flyover
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."
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.
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.
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).
AAP/AP
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