Jannik Sinner breaks Masters record

Jannik Sinner added another record to a season already crowded with them when he beat Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 in the Italian Open quarterfinals on May 14. The victory sent the world No. 1 into the semifinals in Rome and gave him 32 straight wins at ATP Masters 1000 events, the longest run at that level since the series began in 1990. ATP Tour records show he moved past Novak Djokovic’s previous mark of 31, set in 2011. The Rome result also kept Sinner’s broader winning run going. Tennis.com reported that the Rublev match was his 27th straight tour-level victory, a stretch that has included titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid. ATP Tour coverage said the quarterfinal win put him two victories from a first Rome title after he finished runner-up there in 2025. (atptour.com) ### How did Sinner set the record? The 24-year-old Italian broke Rublev early and closed the match in 1 hour, 32 minutes at the Foro Italico. ATP Tour coverage said Sinner’s 32nd consecutive Masters 1000 win came after titles in Paris at the end of 2025 and at all four Masters events played so far in 2026 — Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid. (tennis.com) Novak Djokovic’s previous benchmark had stood at 31 straight Masters 1000 wins. Tennis.com’s match report said Sinner has now won 64 of the 66 sets he has played during that 32-match Masters streak. ### What did Sinner say about the milestone? (atptour.com) “I don’t play for records, I play for my own story,” Sinner said after the Rublev match, according to Tennis.com. ATP Tour quoted him separately on the conditions and the occasion, saying, “It’s a very special tournament for me.” (tennis.com) Rublev was the latest top opponent to fall during Sinner’s run through the Masters calendar. ATP Tour said the win improved Sinner to 8-3 against Rublev in their head-to-head meetings. ### What is the rankings picture behind this run? Live rankings published on May 15 showed Sinner on 14,350 points with a Rome semifinal in progress, compared with 12,960 for Carlos Alcaraz. (tennis.com) The same rankings page showed Sinner on 14,100 points before the semifinal points were added, matching reports that he had opened a lead of more than 2,000 over Alcaraz. (atptour.com) ATP Tour’s rankings analysis from March said Alcaraz had entered the clay season defending far more points than Sinner, creating an opening in the race for No. 1. By mid-May, that gap had widened as Sinner kept winning and Alcaraz’s Rome title defense was no longer intact. ### Why wasn’t the semifinal finished on Friday? (live-tennis.eu) Sinner led Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 5-7, 4-2 when rain stopped their semifinal on May 15. ATP Tour said play was suspended at 9:45 p.m. local time in Rome, with Medvedev serving at advantage in the seventh game of the deciding set. Reuters also reported that Sinner was two games from the final when the match was halted. (atptour.com) The suspension left the second finalist unresolved while Casper Ruud had already advanced from the other semifinal. ATP Tour said the match would resume on May 16 at 3 p.m. local time, ahead of the women’s final between Coco Gauff and Elina Svitolina. ### What comes next in Rome? Saturday’s restart in Rome will decide whether Sinner can turn the record run into a place in the championship match. (atptour.com) ATP Tour said Casper Ruud is waiting in the final after advancing from the other semifinal, and Sinner or Medvedev will join him once play resumes at Campo Centrale.