Jannik Sinner reached the Italian Open semi-finals on Thursday with his 32nd consecutive Masters 1000 victory, surpassing Novak Djokovic’s win record. Compatriot Luciano Darderi also advanced to set up the possibility of an all-Italian final at the Foro Italico.
World number one Jannik Sinner beat Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Italian Open. In doing so, he surpassed Novak Djokovic’s record of 31 consecutive Masters 1000 victories. The 24-year-old’s 32nd straight win at this level extends a run that began after his third-round retirement at the 2025 Shanghai Masters last October, when he was forced to withdraw during his match with Tallon Griekspoor.
Djokovic’s previous record had stood for over a decade, spanning from the 2011 Indian Wells second round to the 2011 Cincinnati final. Sinner has now overtaken it on home soil, in front of a partisan Roman crowd.
“I’m happy about my record and to be in the semi-finals,” Sinner told Sky Sport. “Today I started well, he made a few mistakes, and both of us had rather low first-serve percentages. In the end things got a bit complicated, but that’s okay. I’m working hard both physically and mentally.”
The record-breaking match
The match was not without its tense moments. Sinner cruised through the first set and broke Rublev twice to go 4-1 up in the second, but the Russian rallied to 4-3 and put the world number one under genuine pressure on his subsequent service game. Sinner held his nerve to close it out.
He is now aiming for his first title at the Foro Italico. Victory in Rome would also give him something more historic: he would join Djokovic as the only men to complete the Career Golden Masters, winning all nine Masters 1000 titles at least once. He arrives in the semi-finals in the form of his life, having won five consecutive Masters 1000 titles including last week’s triumph in Madrid, becoming the first man ever to achieve that feat.
“Now I’m trying to recover because I’m feeling a bit tired from playing so much in the last few months,” he admitted. “So far, I’ve played four very different matches in Rome. I knew Rublev better and I prepared well. I won thanks to you too,” he told the crowd.
Darderi also through
Sinner’s compatriot Luciano Darderi, world number 21, also reached the last four after beating Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar 7-6, 5-7, 6-0 in a quarter-final that ran into the early hours. The match had started late due to rain delays and was further interrupted when smoke from flares at the nearby Coppa Italia final at the Stadio Olimpico caused a technical failure in the line-call system.
“I feel stronger. Mentally, I’ve made a quantum leap by never giving up, but I still have a lot to learn,” said the 24-year-old, who faces Norway’s Casper Ruud in the semi-finals. “After the second set, I never thought I’d win. I just tried to fight and push, and I won the match physically. It’s a dream to be in the semi-finals, and I still can’t believe it.”
Sinner was generous in his praise. “The Italian movement is the most important thing, and I’m very happy for Darderi. He’s doing something incredible, and the more Italians there are, especially in Rome, the better.”
With both men in the semi-finals, an all-Italian men’s singles final at the Foro Italico remains a possibility.
