Jannik Sinner Makes Feelings Known on Breaking Novak Djokovic’s All-Time Record in Rome

Because he is the Jannik Sinner, the tennis world had expected him to soon break Novak Djokovic‘s all-time Masters 1000 record. On Thursday (May 14), Sinner dismantled Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 to reach the semifinal of a tournament for the fifth consecutive time this year.

Sinner clinched his 32nd consecutive Masters 1000 win, breaking the record of Djokovic. The Italian ace is now two wins away from becoming the second man, after the 24-time Grand Slam champion, to complete the Career Golden Masters.

It’s tough to say. I don’t play for records. I play just for my own story. At the same time, it means a lot to me, but tomorrow is another opponent. We’re gonna play in different conditions. It’s gonna be a night match. Let’s see. Now the highest priority for me is trying to recover as much as I can physically. We’ll see how it goes. Emotionally, it takes a lot playing here at home. At the same time, I’ll definitely try to do my best. We see how it goes. In any way, it’s a win-win situation for me in any case. It was a good day today.

Jannik Sinner said during the on-court interview

Djokovic also played in the tournament, but he failed to go past his opening-round opponent, Dino Prizmic. It was the third time Djokovic competed in a tournament this year after the Australian Open and the Indian Wells, where he lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final and Jack Draper in the fourth round, respectively. En route to his defeat at the hands of the Spaniard, the 38-year-old knocked out two-time defending champion Sinner in the semifinals.

Sinner is aiming to become the first man in history to win six consecutive Masters 1000 titles. Before arriving in Rome, he clinched his career’s third clay-court title by breezing past Alexander Zverev at the Madrid Open. Sinner, in fact, is chasing his third consecutive clay-court title because he also lifted the Monte-Carlo Masters by defeating defending champion Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner on his match against Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev was chasing his career’s third Masters 1000 title and played the quarterfinals in Rome for the second time in his career. Jannik Sinner, after improving his head-to-head record over Rublev to 8-3, analyzed the match.

I felt like it was a bit breezy and a bit windy. Very tough conditions. He’s a very dangerous player when he plays at his highest level. It’s very tough to beat him. I felt like we both didn’t play our best today. But at the same time, the conditions here are very tough. I tried to adapt myself in the best possible way. Obviously, I’m happy. It’s a special tournament for me.

Jannik Sinner said during his on-court interview

Sinner will next be locking horns with Martin Landaluce or Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. It was in the third round of last year’s Shanghai Masters that Sinner last lost a match. Last year in the Rome final, the four-time Grand Slam champion lost in straight sets to Carlos Alcaraz.

The seven-time Grand Slam champion did not compete because of a wrist injury, which forced him to retire mid-match at the Barcelona Open and skip the Madrid Open as well as the Italian Open. The two-time reigning champion will also not play at the French Open, which will see Sinner enter the event as the heavy favorite.

The 24-year-old will be chasing history at the clay-court Major, as winning the tournament would make him the seventh man in the Open Era to complete the Career Grand Slam. The last player to achieve this feat was Alcaraz in this year’s Australian Open.

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