Jannik Sinner (24) is wasting no time shifting focus after making history in Madrid. The Italian now sets his sights on completing the “Golden Masters” by winning the title on home soil in Rome next week. If successful, he would become only the second man ever to claim all nine Masters 1000 crowns.
On Sunday, Sinner became the first player to win five consecutive Masters 1000 titles, dismantling Alexander Zverev 6-1, 6-2 in just 57 minutes. That adds Madrid to his recent victories in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte Carlo.
Rome is the only missing piece. Sinner aims to improve on last year’s result, when he lost in the final to Carlos Alcaraz in his first tournament back from a three-month doping suspension. A title in Rome would see him join Novak Djokovic as the only men to have conquered all nine Masters 1000 events.
“Playing at home is always special. Physically I feel fine, and there’s no reason not to play in Rome, so I’m happy to go there—it means a lot to me,” Sinner said in a press conference after his Madrid win.
“Last year I returned after a difficult period, and it was very important for me emotionally, especially because of the support I felt playing there. That’s why I’m really happy to go back, even though winning the tournament isn’t easy; every event is extremely demanding. We’ll see how it goes this time.”
“But right now, honestly, I’m just thinking about resting mentally for the next two or three days. I’ve given a lot, and there’s so much energy behind everything you put into a tournament. So we’ll see.”
Sinner, who has shown dominance on both hard courts and clay this season, acknowledged that the weight of expectations is growing.
“I want to enjoy this moment. It’s been a very, very long tournament. Obviously I’m really happy. But now it’s also important to recover, especially mentally, because there’s a lot of pressure.”
Asked about Zverev’s comment that there’s a big gap between Sinner and the rest of the field, the Italian replied: “It’s hard to say.”
“Sometimes you have good days, sometimes not so much. Today was a really, really good performance from me. Very solid on serve… But I don’t compare myself to other players. I try to be the best possible version of myself, and that’s it.”
“In my opinion, (Zverev) was a bit more tired today, and when I’m more tired, I also tend to get more nervous. That’s normal. I played very solidly in the key points, tried to make the right decisions, and the result was excellent.”