Jannik Sinner Reveals Love for Butter Chicken and Expresses His Wish to Fulfill India Visit Promise

Jannik Sinner is chasing his fifth consecutive Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open.

Jannik Sinner Reveals Love for Butter Chicken and Expresses His Wish to Fulfill India Visit Promise

Jannik Sinner (Image via BBC)

In Short
  • Jannik Sinner aims for his first Madrid Open semifinal against Rafael Jodar.
  • He is on a 20-match winning streak and has won three Masters 1000 titles this season.
  • Sinner expressed his desire to visit India and mentioned his love for butter chicken.

Jannik Sinner will be hoping to reach the Madrid Open semifinals for the first time in his career. But up against him in the quarterfinals will be rising star Rafael Jodar.

The Italian ace is on a 20-match winning streak, as before reaching the Madrid last eight, he lifted titles at the Indian Wells Masters, Miami Open, and the Monte-Carlo Masters. He is also the second man, after Novak Djokovic, to win the first three Masters 1000s of the season.

If he wins the Madrid title, he will become the first man to take home the first four Masters 1000s of the season. He, in fact, is chasing his fifth consecutive Masters 1000 title, as last year, he clinched the Paris Masters. Sinner, following his latest win, was asked at the press conference about a promise he made in 2024 about visiting India.

I don’t remember the promise (smiles). You had amazing players, and hopefully they are gonna come up in the future. I’m not sure if I’m able to come, but I would love to. It is the part of the world I have never been to, and I would like to visit one day. I have a great relationship with Indian players. It is nice, back in the days, we had some great players coming from there.

Sinner was then asked about his favorite Indian dish: “Butter chicken. That’s something I enjoy.” But at present, the World No.1 will be focusing on improving his winning streak to 21 matches.

Sinner’s opponent, Jodar, who is also playing in his home tournament for the first time, beat Vit Kopriva in the fourth round, while in the third round, he went past Joao Fonseca in three sets. Jodar registered the biggest win of his career when he dismantled World No.8 Alex de Minaur in the second round.

The Madrid Open is the only Masters 1000 tournament where Sinner has yet to progress to the semifinals. Before this season, he made the last eight in the Spanish capital just once, in 2024, but was forced to hand the walkover to Felix Auger-Aliassime. He skipped the tournament last year due to his doping ban.

Rafael Jodar on what he likes the most about Jannik Sinner

Rafael Jodar was ranked outside of No.500 when Jannik Sinner lifted last year’s Wimbledon by defeating Carlos Alcaraz. At the press conference after his latest win, Jodar was asked what he likes the most about the 24-year-old.

Well, Jannik, I think is a great player overall. Yeah, you can see that in every match he plays, he’s always very focused with the mentality, and with a great mentality, I think that helps him a lot during the matches. Obviously, he’s got a great forehand and backhand. Overall, I think he’s a great player, so if I want to do well tomorrow, I’ll have to give my best.

After the Madrid Open, Sinner will play the Italian Open, where last year, he reached the final for the first time, only to suffer a straight-set defeat at the hands of Alcaraz. Sinner also made the final of the French Open, but in spite of a two-set lead and three match points in the fourth set, he ended up losing the match.

He will be bidding to complete the Career Grand Slam in the clay-court Major. Sinner, who failed to complete a three-peat in this year’s Australian Open, will be the heavy favorite to win the title after Alcaraz’s withdrawal due to a wrist injury. Had Alcaraz played, he would have chased his third consecutive title in the tournament.

Also read: Alexander Zverev’s Mystery Injury Admission Raises Concerns Ahead of Madrid Open 4th Round