Jannik Sinner has his eyes on a first Roland Garros title after winning the Italian Open on Sunday to claim a record-extending sixth consecutive Masters 1000 tournament victory.
World No. 1 Sinner beat Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 to complete the “Golden Masters” by winning all of the ATP’s top-ranked events, in the process becoming the first Italian men’s champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.
Only Novak Djokovic had previously won all nine Masters 1000 events before Sunday, but there was little doubt about Sinner triumphing over the past 10 days.
Photo: AFP
Sinner heads to Roland Garros, which starts at the weekend, on a 29-match winning streak and will be intent on banishing the ghosts of last year’s final when he wasted three championship points before losing to Carlos Alcaraz.
His run of match wins is even longer in Masters 1000 tournaments — now at 34 — another record he has established in a season in which he has dominated the ATP Tour.
Sinner can complete his collection of Grand Slams and, with his great rival Alcaraz out of action, few would bet against him securing a first title in Paris.
“I need to keep myself in form because there’s my most important tournament of the year coming up,” Sinner told reporters. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself because the pressure comes anyway. The most important thing to do right now is take a break and do the right things. I don’t even want to think too much about tennis right now.”
Ruud has won more matches and tournaments on clay than anyone else on the ATP Tour since the start of 2020 — his last title on the surface coming at the Madrid Masters last year — but he could not beat Sinner for the first time.
Norwegian Ruud had never won a set against Sinner in any of their previous four meetings, but immediately improved on the fearful hammering he received here from the Italian last year by winning the first two games.
Sinner broke straight back and took the lead in the match after an opening set in which the world No. 25 held his own against a player he had previously said “cannot lose.”
Sinner then broke Ruud again at the start of the second set and from there it was just a matter of time before he won the championship, even though Ruud performed with credit in front of a packed crowd.
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