Jannik Sinner breaks Novak Djokovic's ATP Masters 1000 win-streak record at Italian Open

Jannik Sinner is also on a 27-match streak in all competitions. Clive Brunskill / Getty Images Share articleAnother day, another milestone for Jannik Sinner, who on Thursday broke Novak Djokovic’s record for consecutive wins at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, the rung below the Grand Slams. With a 6-2, 6-4, win over Andrey Rublev on Thursday at the Italian Open, Sinner recorded his 32nd victory in a row, surpassing Djokovic’s mark of 31 which had stood since 2011. Sinner, who is undefeated at this level since his retirement against Tallon Griekspoor at last October’s Shanghai Masters, has won five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 tournaments during his streak. Should he lift the Italian Open trophy Sunday, he will have won all nine events in the category at just 24. Djokovic, the only man to date to achieve the feat, did it at 31. The world No. 1’s win over Rublev, the world No. 14, also extended his win streak in all competitions to 27. At the French Open, which begins next Sunday, he is bidding to complete the career Grand Slam of winning all four majors. Even against a top-15 player, Sinner was an overwhelming favorite going into the match. The reality is that with Carlos Alcaraz injured and Djokovic about to turn 39 and recovering from a shoulder injury, he is a one-horse-race favorite whoever he plays. We are at the stage when matches being briefly competitive feel noteworthy, and so the only moments of intrigue in the first set came when Rublev twice held a break point to level a 2-2. Sinner has been so dominant on serve that he had only faced one break point in his previous five matches. He saved both here and then broke again as he cruised through the set in 38 minutes. In the second set, there were audible gasps when Sinner double faulted serving up 2-1. Not because it was a moment of any consequence, just because of the genuine surprise at that kind of fallibility from the world No. 1. He had already broken at the very start of the set, and from that point on it was pretty clear that he was on course to break Djokovic’s winning record at this level. Rublev was not playing badly, but Sinner was just that bit too good. Typified by Rublev missing three game points when serving down 3-1 thanks to an inch-perfect Sinner drop shot and then two bullet returns off serves that would have done the job against any other player. Moments later, Sinner had the double break. He ended up needing it after dropping his serve for the first time all tournament in the next game and looking a little uncomfortable physically. !function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data["datawrapper-height"]){var e=document.querySelectorAll("[id='datawrapper-chart-b7oU1']");for(var t in a.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r Rublev started to adopt an all-out attack strategy that contributed to him spending more of the match in attack than Sinner (23 percent to 22), according to data from Courtside Advantage. What decided the match in the Italian's favor was how well he defended, winning 45 percent of points when in defence compared to Rublev's 22 percent. Sinner was able to fend off Rublev's comeback despite a physical fade that may have contributed to him making just 39 percent of his first serves in the second set. A sign of wear and tear and fatigue perhaps which will offer minor encouragement to a chasing pack that desperately needs something, anything, to cling onto right now. Sinner will meet either 2021 U.S. Open champion Daniil Medvedev or lucky loser Martin Landaluce in the semifinals Friday. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms