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Jannik Sinner matched Novak Djokovic’s record after his victory over compatriot Andrea Pellegrino in the fourth round.
Jannik Sinner has surpassed Novak Djokovic’s all-time record for consecutive match wins at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, achieving his 32nd straight victory in a historic run to the Italian Open semi-finals.
The Italian world number one defeated 12th seed Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4, continuing his quest to join Djokovic as only the second player to win all nine Masters 1000 titles – the highest level of competition below the Grand Slams.
Sinner, 24, appears to be in formidable form leading up to the French Open, the only major standing between him and a career Grand Slam, which begins on May 24.
He has joined Spanish icon Rafael Nadal as the only other player to reach the semi-finals at each of the first five Masters 1000 events in a season, and will now face Russian Daniil Medvedev for a place in the final.
Seventh seed Medvedev lost the first five games against Spanish lucky loser Martin Landaluce, conceding the opening set in just 26 minutes, but rallied to win 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 and reach his first semi-final of the clay-court swing.
“I don’t play for records. I play just for my own story,” Sinner told the crowd.
“At the same time, it means a lot to me. But tomorrow is another opponent, in different conditions – it’s a night match.
“Now the highest priority for me is trying to recover as much as I can physically.
“Emotionally it takes a lot playing here at home. At the same time, I’ll definitely try to do my best. It’s a win-win situation for me in any case. It was a good day today.”
Sinner has won 45 of his past 47 matches across all tournaments since his last defeat at a Masters 1000 event, where he was forced to retire from his third-round match in Shanghai.
He has triumphed at that level in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid this year, following victory in Paris in November, winning 64 of the 66 sets he has contested during his record-breaking run.
With his victory in Madrid earlier this month, he became the first player in history to win five consecutive Masters 1000 titles – and just two weeks later, he is closing in on a sixth.
And so, while records may not be his primary focus, his achievements continue to draw comparisons with the sport’s greatest.
Overall, he has claimed 121 wins from 150 matches at ATP 1000 level, with only 22-time major winner Nadal (123) boasting a superior record since the format’s introduction in 1990.
Eager to deliver for his passionate home crowd, he will now aim for two more victories as he seeks to become the first Italian men’s singles champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.
Third seed Coco Gauff secured back-to-back finals appearances in Rome, ending Sorana Cirstea’s impressive run with a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the semi-finals.
Cirstea, 36, who is set to retire at the end of this season, had won 10 of her 12 matches on clay leading into the semi-final but couldn’t match Gauff in the crucial moments. The American converted five of her six break points and saved two of five on her own serve.
Trailing 4-2 after dropping serve in the opening game, Gauff responded with four consecutive games to clinch the first set. She broke Cirstea’s serve three more times in the second set before closing out the match with a love hold.
The reigning French Open champion, who has reached her first clay-court final of the season following a quarter-final exit in Stuttgart and a last-16 defeat in Madrid, is eyeing her first title since last October.
She will face seventh seed Elina Svitolina, who overcame four-time French Open champion Iga Swiatek to reach another final eight years after claiming her second title in Rome.
After winning the opening set 6-4, Svitolina saved four break points across her opening two service games in the decider and converted one on Swiatek’s serve to take a commanding 3-0 lead.
She saved a fifth break point in the seventh game before breaking Swiatek for a sixth time in the match to win 6-4, 2-6, 6-2.
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