Roughly a quarter of a year prior, a certain level of apprehension existed that Jannik Sinner might be ceding his competitive advantage against Carlos Alcaraz, following his defeats at the Australian Open and in Doha.
The situation has since undergone a notable transformation.
The premier player globally triumphed over Alexander Zverev with a score of 6-1, 6-2 during the Madrid Open championship match this past Sunday, establishing himself as the inaugural athlete ever to secure five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 championships. Previously, he shared a record with Novak Djokovic (who achieved four consecutive 1000 titles on three separate occasions) and Rafael Nadal (who did so once).
Sinner completely dominated Zverev from the outset, clinching 20 out of the initial 23 points en route to securing the first set 6-1, accomplishing this feat in merely 25 minutes. Within nine minutes, Sinner had established a 3-0 advantage. He further expanded this lead to 5-0 within 17 minutes.
Zverev offered a slightly greater challenge during the second set, though it wasn’t significant before Sinner claimed it 6-2. The entire contest spanned a mere 57 minutes as Sinner unleashed powerful forehands from the baseline, effortlessly returned backhands, and executed delicate drop shots near the net, surpassing Zverev in every facet of play on the court.
“My beginning in the game was excellent, achieving an instant service break,” Sinner remarked during his post-match interview on the court. “Yet, his tennis performance wasn’t at its peak today. Consequently, I focused on being aggressive, and I am quite content with the standard of my play.”
This victory prolongs Sinner’s unbroken run against Zverev to nine encounters, a sequence that commenced at the 2024 Cincinnati Open. He has overcome the German opponent in each of his five successive 1000 championship wins.
“My sincerest apologies for the final; it wasn’t my finest day,” Zverev expressed to the audience prior to the awards presentation.
Sinner received a prize of $1.2 million for his Madrid Open triumph, supplementing the $4.35 million he has already accumulated this year. Throughout his career, Sinner has amassed over $60 million in winnings.
Jannik Sinner is currently achieving unprecedented feats
Sinner, at 24 years old, has now secured 28 consecutive ATP 1000 victories across the Paris Masters, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid. Should he prevail in an additional four matches in Rome later this month, he will surpass Djokovic’s streak of 31 consecutive wins.
A championship in Rome would establish him as the first male player to dominate all clay 1000 events since Nadal did so in 2010, further extending his unparalleled sequence of achievements. These historical benchmarks trace their origins to 1990, the year the contemporary ATP 1000 framework was implemented.
The Madrid championship additionally provides Sinner with a greater lead in the race for the No. 1 ranking; he currently holds a 1,390-point advantage over Alcaraz, possessing 14,350 points, and is poised to extend this margin throughout the upcoming month. Alcaraz has been inactive since his defeat by Sinner in the Monte-Carlo final and has already declared his withdrawal from Roland-Garros due to a wrist ailment.
Sinner secured victory in the 2025 ATP Finals amidst this ongoing impressive run, despite experiencing defeats to Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinals and to Jakub Menšík in the Doha 500 event.
Clearly, Sinner participates in a sport where ultimate excellence is gauged by Grand Slam triumphs, rather than by 1000-level championships. Nevertheless, a compelling rationale exists for Sinner being considered the presumptive frontrunner at Roland-Garros, regardless of Alcaraz’s physical condition. Clay has historically not been his preferred playing surface, whereas Alcaraz has excelled on it, yet this recent string of achievements has fundamentally altered the prevailing discourse.
Furthermore, should Sinner manage to conquer the field in Paris, absent Alcaraz, he would become the seventh male player in the Open Era to accomplish the career Grand Slam.
