Jannik Sinner passed a big test in his return from a three-month doping ban, beating accomplished clay-court player Francisco Cerundolo on Tuesday to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals.

The world No. 1 was rusty on his first match back after three months away. His Italian Open draw means he cannot afford to be so for long.

This was Jannik Sinner's 50th victory as the ATP's top-ranked player, in just his 53rd outing as the world number one. Since the ATP rankings were first published in 1973, that is the joint-fewest matches required to reach 50 wins as the world number one,