ROME: Coco Gauff survived a scare at this year’s Italian Open, coming back from a set down to beat qualifier Victoria Mboko 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 as Aryna Sabalenka and Carlos Alcaraz both cruised through their opening matches.

World No.3 Gauff will play Magda Linette in the third round in Rome after prevailing despite being far from her best in a match which signalled more progress from her up-and-coming opponent.

Canadian Mboko played with a maturity which defied the 153 places separating her from Gauff in the world rankings in a prime-time clash on center court.

The 18-year-old has risen from 333 to 156 since the start of the year and the Foro Italico crowd quickly took to her confident, and powerful play.

Mboko had Gauff on the ropes in the first set, breaking the former US Open winner four times, but eventually gave way to her more experienced opponent who is one of the favorites for overall victory after losing to Sabalenka in the recent Madrid final.

“It was a tough match, Victoria came out playing some tough tennis, I knew she was going to do from watching some of her previous matches,” said Gauff.

“But overall I’m just happy that I was able to step up my game.”

Current world No. 1 Sabalenka swept past Russia’s Anastasia Potapova 6-2, 6-2 in just over an hour.

Sabalenka will play Sofia Kenin in the next round after the American beat another Russian in Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova in straight sets, 6-3, 6-0.

The 27-year-old Sabalenka has reached the final of her last four tournaments, winning both in Madrid and in another 1000 series in Miami.

“I know that if I bring my best game and my fight spirit on court, I know that I can win this tournament,” Sabalenka told reporters.

Emma Raducanu got off to a flying start with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Jil Teichmann, a lucky loser who replaced Ekaterina Alexandrova following the Russian’s withdrawal with a shoulder injury.

Alcaraz got past Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 23 minutes in his first match since suffering a thigh injury in his Barcelona Open final defeat to Holger Rune last month.

The Spaniard showed some signs of ring rustiness with 22 unforced errors but saw off Serbian qualifier Lajovic and was positive about his comeback display.

“It was a great performance, a great level, which was surprising for me a little bit but I’m just really happy,” said Alcaraz.

Alcaraz will now face Laslo Djere, a 6-0, 6-3 winner over Alex Michelsen, in the third round as he eyes a potential final with world number one Jannik Sinner in the Italian capital.

Sinner will make his comeback from a three-month doping ban on Saturday when he takes on Mariano Navone in front of what will be a partisan crowd.

Alcaraz later told reporters that he would take it easy on his day off, keep an eye on Sinner’s match and go to watch his friend Patric play for Serie A football club Lazio against Juventus at the nearby Stadio Olimpico.

Reigning Rome champion Alexander Zverev also strolled into the next round, beating Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-2, 6-1 in the last match of the day on center court.

Home hope Lorenzo Musetti opened his week, his first in the top 10 of the men’s world rankings, with a 6-3, 6-2 win over qualifier Otto Virtanen.

Musetti, losing finalist in Monte Carlo last month, has the USA’s Brandon Nakashima next and could face Daniil Medvedev in the last 16 after the 2023 Rome champion easily saw off Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-4, 6-2 to set up a third-round clash with Alexei Popyrin.

Ninth-seed Rune will play Corentin Moutet, who went through after fellow Frenchman Ugo Humbert withdrew injured, in the third round after winning a thrilling match with Francisco Comesana 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

INDIANAPOLIS: Donovan Mitchell had 43 points and nine rebounds, and the finally full-strength Cleveland Cavaliers beat Indiana 126-104 on Friday night to cut the Pacers’ lead to 2-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The road team has won all three games in the series, and the Pacers will have another chance to break that trend Sunday in Game 4.
Cleveland was desperate to avoid falling into a 3-0 hole and used everything in its arsenal to hold on this time — making 14 3-pointers, holding a 56-37 rebounding edge, even relying on zone defense to slow down the high-scoring Pacers.
And with NBA Defensive Player of the Year Evan Mobley, All-Star guard Darius Garland and key backup De’Andre Hunter all suited up after missing Game 2, Mitchell got the support he needed.
Max Strus made four 3-pointers and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Three other Cleveland players also scored in double figures on a night the Cavs led by as much 26, never trailed and managed to protect their late lead when the Pacers cut the deficit to 11 early in the fourth.
Bennedict Mathurin led the Pacers with 23 points. Pascal Siakam had 18 and Tyrese Haliburton finished with four points and five assists in his first career home loss in a postseason game he’s appeared.
The most physical of the three games resulted in players routinely sprawled on the floor. Hunter turned into a hard shoulder after making a basket early in the second quarter, a collision that nearly knocked him down, and Mitchell took a nasty spill into the front-row seats while being called for an offensive foul.
Tempers also flared at times with the Pacers drawing five technical fouls, one for a delay of game.
On the court, though, Cleveland controlled most of the game after breaking a 36-36 tie with a 25-4 run that helped push the Cavs to a 66-45 halftime cushion.
Indiana cut it to 80-65 midway through the third quarter and looked ready to pull off another fourth-quarter rally when Siakam’s 3 with 8:24 to play made it 104-93. But Mitchell and Strus answered with back-to-back 3s to lead a game-sealing charge.