JANNIK SINNER DESTROYS ZVEREV IN MADRID TO WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT MASTERS TITLE
Explore the data behind Sinner’s 28-match win streak and his quest to sweep all nine Masters titles at the upcoming Italian Open.
All week in Madrid, Jude Bellingham and Thibaut Courtois kept popping up in the stands at the Caja Mágica. They really seemed to be enjoying the matches, but they had to skip Sunday’s final. Real Madrid had their own business at Espanyol that night. Honestly, they didn’t miss much. Jannik Sinner needed just 57 minutes to obliterate Alexander Zverev in the second-fastest Masters 1000 final ever (if you don’t count retirements). Blink, and you’d miss it.
Numbers tell the whole tale here. Sinner just became the first guy to win five Masters 1000 tournaments in a row. That’s a streak that began last season in Paris and now covers Indian Wells and Miami on hard courts, plus Monte Carlo and Madrid on clay. Not even Djokovic, Nadal, or Federer pulled this off in their best years.
Sinner’s last real Masters loss? A third-round retirement in Shanghai. Now he’s on a 28-match win streak at Masters events. When he heads home for the Italian Open in Rome, he'll have a shot at topping Federer’s best run (29) and chasing Djokovic’s record of 31 straight wins. If he takes his first title in Rome, he’ll join Djokovic as the only men to sweep all nine current Masters tournaments. And after all that, Sinner just shrugged and said he doesn’t play for records. Imagine if he did.
Zverev, once again, had to find the words to sum up Sinner’s dominance, and honestly, it sounded bleak for everyone else in the draw. “Today I would have lost to anybody, to be very fair. I think today I played an awful tennis match,” Zverev admitted. And then: “There’s a big gap between Sinner and everybody else. And there’s a big gap between Alcaraz, me, maybe Novak, and everybody else. There are two gaps right now.”
That’s not encouraging for the competition, especially with Sinner heading to Roland Garros as the top favourite for a Grand Slam since Djokovic’s dominant Wimbledon run four years ago. Carlos Alcaraz, last year’s Paris champ, is out with a wrist injury, so Zverev becomes the second seed. But Zverev just got destroyed, 6-1, 6-2, in his best clay final, and he sounded convinced Sinner is a class apart. Sure, Djokovic beat Sinner at the Australian Open, but he hasn’t played since March, and he’s about to turn 39.
You really have to give Sinner credit for this run. It’s not flashy, but his consistency, resetting point by point, staying sharp every week, is rare. Tennis makes it hard to stay locked in, and everyone would do it if it were easy.
Sinner downplays the records and comparisons. “I cannot compare myself with Rafa, Roger, Novak,” he said in Madrid. “What they did is something incredible. I don’t play for these records. I play for myself, for my team, because they know what’s behind the scenes. Also, my family never changed because of my success… Sure, these are great numbers, but it takes discipline and sacrifice.”
He keeps it grounded: "There are daily routines. I’m the one who has to wake up and be ready every morning. I love the journey. I want to give myself the best chance to be my best. Not for records. What those greats did and what Novak still does is incredible. I can’t compare to them.”
But nobody can argue with what Sinner’s doing right now. He kicked off the season by becoming the first to win the Indian Wells-Miami double without dropping a set. He caught Alcaraz and took the No. 1 spot back in Monte Carlo. Now, with Alcaraz sidelined, Sinner’s got a real shot at making a historic run through Rome and Roland Garros. Outside of Djokovic, the rest just don’t seem to matter at the moment.
WHY DID 22 PLAYERS SUDDENLY WITHDRAW FROM THE 2026 ITALIAN OPEN MID-TOURNAMENT?
Discover the full list of injured stars, including Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu, forced out of the 2026 Italian Open.
At the 2026 Italian Open, the number of players who have withdrawn or retired during matches has climbed to 22, spanning both the ATP and WTA competitions.
By midweek, 17 players had already exited the combined ATP/WTA 1000 event in Rome. Since then, an additional three men and two women have followed suit.
Before the draws were even announced on Monday, prominent names like Carlos Alcaraz, Taylor Fritz, Jack Draper, and Marketa Vondrousova had pulled out. On the opening day of the women’s tournament, Tuesday, Marta Kostyuk and Emma Raducanu also withdrew.
Amanda Anisimova, ranked sixth in the WTA, stepped back before her first match on Thursday due to a left wrist injury. Meanwhile, Victoria Mboko, who is ninth in the world, withdrew before playing on Friday because of a gastrointestinal illness.
Valentin Vacherot, the 16th-ranked player on the ATP tour, pulled out shortly before his scheduled second-round match against Marin Cilic on Friday, citing a foot injury.
Tomas Machac, holding the 41st spot in the men's rankings, also withdrew ahead of his second-round encounter with Daniil Medvedev after an impactful win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in round one.
Arthur Fils, ranked 17th, retired during his opening match against Andrea Pellegrino on Saturday, trailing 0-4, due to hip pain.
Here’s a rundown of the withdrawals on the ATP side: Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2) was replaced by Sebastian Ofner; Taylor Fritz (No. 7) by Zachary Svajda; Valentin Vacherot (No. 16) by Martin Landaluce; Arthur Rinderknech (No. 24) by Aleksandar Kovacevic; Holger Rune (No. 40) by Damir Dzumhur; Gabriel Diallo (No. 46) by Alexander Blockx; Jack Draper (No. 50) by Hamad Medjedovic; Raphael Collignon (No. 68) by Alexandre Muller; Reilly Opelka (No. 74) by Aleksandar Vukic; Arthur Cazaux (No. 73) by Mattia Bellucci; Kamil Majchrzak (No. 76) by Roberto Bautista Agut; and Eliot Spizzirri (No. 92) by James Duckworth.
On the WTA side, Amanda Anisimova (No. 6) was replaced by Elena Gabriela Ruse from Romania; Victoria Mboko (No. 9) by Nikola Bartunkova; Marta Kostyuk (No. 15) by Ajla Tomljanovic; Emma Raducanu (No. 30) by Lilli Tagger; Marketa Vondrousova (No. 44) by Solana Sierra; Sonay Kartal (No. 56) by Zeynep Sonmez; Varvara Gracheva (No. 61) by Eva Lys; and Veronika Kudermetova (No. 70) by Petra Marcinko.
THE "REST OVER REPS" PLAN: WHY JANNIK SINNER IS SNUBBING HALLE FOR WIMBLEDON
After 23 consecutive wins, World No. 1 Jannik Sinner adjusts his schedule to target a Career Grand Slam and Wimbledon glory.
Jannik Sinner has already logged a heavy schedule this year, with deep runs in recent Masters 1000 tournaments keeping him on court against top-tier competition regularly. Given this demanding stretch, he’s taken a fresh look at his calendar and decided to skip the Halle Open, carving out a three-week break between Roland Garros and his Wimbledon title defence.
The 2024 Wimbledon champion won’t be heading to Germany for the grass-court event. That’s notable since Sinner claimed that Wimbledon crown in impressive fashion, overcoming two-time winner Carlos Alcaraz to secure his first major title away from hardcourts. That victory was his latest Grand Slam, following Alcaraz’s wins at the previous two majors.
After Roland Garros, where he seeks to complete the career Grand Slam, Sinner plans to recharge rather than pile on more tournaments before Wimbledon. Without Alcaraz in sight, he’s considered a favourite to maintain his remarkable run. His recent haul includes titles at Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and, most recently, Madrid. Now, he’s setting his sights on Rome, his home turf, where he’s never clinched a win but is eager to continue an ambitious streak of Masters 1000 victories, aiming for a sixth in a row.
Post-Rome, he’ll take a week off before the French Open begins. In total, Sinner has played 23 matches over the last two months without tasting defeat. If he wants to lift the Rome trophy, he’ll need to notch six more wins, then potentially battle through seven more rounds in Paris. This demanding schedule partly explains his choice to forgo Halle.
As for the 2026 Halle Open, fans might be disappointed not to see the world number one, but the field remains strong. Heading the draw is Alexander Zverev, a local favourite who has yet to claim a grass-court title or even one on home soil. With Sinner out, this could be a prime opportunity for Zverev to break through.
The American players are also well represented. The U.S. hasn’t seen a finalist here since Mardy Fish in 2004, but Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton might be poised to change that, especially Fritz, who has already shown grass prowess with titles in Stuttgart and Eastbourne last year.
Defending champion Alexander Bublik, who ousted Sinner on his way to victory and took down Daniil Medvedev in the final, will be back aiming to repeat. Alongside him, names like Andrey Rublev, Flavio Cobolli, and Frances Tiafoe are also set to compete. The tournament runs from June 15 to 21, promising plenty of exciting tennis.
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