Jannik Sinner set a new ATP record for consecutive wins in Masters 1000 tournaments on Thursday, beating Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals of the Italian Open in Rome and surpass the previous benchmark of 31 straight victories set by Novak Djokovic in 2011. The world number one has now won 32 consecutive matches at the sport’s premier tier events, a figure that underlines his extraordinary dominance of the ATP tour.
Another comfortable victory for Sinner
Rublev offered limited resistance against an opponent who is playing some of the finest tennis of his career. The Russian dropped his serve in the opening game of both sets and committed 28 unforced errors across just 18 games, handing Sinner the kind of platform from which he rarely fails to capitalise.
Sinner showed flashes of his very best tennis but also appeared to be feeling the accumulation of a busy schedule towards the end of the match, visibly touching his left thigh before confidently serving out the victory. He was candid about his condition afterwards.
“I am starting to feel that I have been playing a lot, so I need to recover as much as possible because tomorrow will be very difficult,” he told reporters. “However it goes it will be a win for me. If I win, great, but even if things do not go well that is fine because I will have a few more days to prepare for Paris, which is my main objective this year.”
On the record itself, Sinner was characteristically understated. “I do not play for records, I play just for my own story. At the same time, it means a lot to me, but tomorrow is another day and a different opponent.”
With Carlos Alcaraz absent through injury, Sinner is the heavy favourite to become the first Italian to win the Rome title in five decades, and a potential career Grand Slam at Roland Garros remains firmly on the horizon.
Gauff reaches the final with professional display
Coco Gauff followed Sinner into the last four by reaching the Rome final for the second successive year, beating veteran Romanian Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3 in an assured performance that suggested she is finding her best form at the right time.
The 24-year-old American had endured a difficult clay season, exiting the Madrid Open in the last 16 after a disappointing quarter-final run in Stuttgart. But against Cirstea, who is set to retire at the end of the year, Gauff was controlled and clinical, aided by a marked improvement in her often inconsistent service game. She made only one double fault and landed 79 per cent of her first serves, cutting a confident figure throughout.
Gauff was beaten by Jasmine Paolini in last year’s Rome final and will be hoping to go one better ahead of her Roland Garros title defence.
