Sinner happy to be back in Italy: "I love playing at home".

Jannik Sinner's Masters opener against Alex De Minaur was an unstoppable affair. The world No.1, who is the big favorite for the event, hadn't played in his homeland since last season's Masters.

In a post-match interview on court, he greeted the large number of spectators who had turned out to support him in his first group match: "There's the Davis Cup next week, but the ATP season ends here and there's no better place to end it.

I love the crowd, their energy. I love playing at home. It's a great honor for me. I couldn't wait to play here. Thank you all for coming.

I didn't play in Rome this year and that was a painful moment, so it's even nicer to play here. Last year, I came close to winning the tournament. We'll see this year."