But the home fans didn't exactly delight Australian hope Alex de Minaur in another match at the Foro Italico on Saturday as he had to deal with a disruptive spectator near the end of his second-round win over home hope Luca Nardi.
World No.1 Sinner, playing his first match since winning the Australian Open in January, took no time to get back into the winning groove, defeating Argentine Navone 6-3 6-4.
Playing in front of a cheering 10,500 crowd in his home tournament, the 23-year-old, who had been given a bye in the opening round, looked almost as if he'd never been away as he earned victory in one hour and 38 minutes.
"It's an amazing feeling. I've waited quite long for this moment. I'm very happy to be back," Sinner said afterwards.
"It was an incredible moment for me, going again on court.
"I tried to prepare myself in the best way and control my mental thing in the best way, which I did, so I am very happy about that."
Sinner broke once as he took the first set in 40 minutes against Navone, who then offered sterner resistance in the second before Sinner closed out his first match in more than 100 days with the orange-clad crowd on Campo Centrale serenading him with cries of "Ole, ole, ole, Sin-ner, Sin-ner!"
"The crowd was incredible," Sinner said. "They always give me strength to continue even in tough times. So it was a very, very special moment."
The win extended Sinner's winning streak to 22 matches, dating back to last October -- a reminder of his dominance before February when he agreed to the three-month ban in a controversial settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
The ban had raised plenty of questions - and frustration among critics like Australian Nick Kyrgios - as it conveniently allowed him not to miss any grand slams tournaments and return just in time for the French Open.
Sinner will next face 93rd-ranked Dutch qualifier Jesper De Jong, who beat 25th seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-0 6-2.
In the day's late match on Grand Stand Arena, the raucous home crowd began to get on de Minaur's back before he finally managed to subdue a lively challenge from their favourite, world No.95 Nardi, 6-4 7-5.
But 'Demon' only got the job done after a fan in the front row, who'd evidently been bothering him throughout the contest, tried to disrupt his concentration at 4-4 in the second set, prompting de Minaur to point out the culprit to the chair umpire.
The Australian No.1 went over to remonstrate with the spectator and the umpire followed him over, warning the fan that security would deal with him if there were any more interruptions.
"I did what I needed to do, it wasn't easy by any means," said de Minaur, after finally securing victory. "It wasn't great tennis from both sides but sometimes you have to play with the cards you're dealt, and I tried to keep my focus.Â
"Throughout the whole match, I had chances I didn't take - but I think I did well not to lose my head. There's no point in getting frustrated."
