ROME, ITALY – MAY 14: Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a forehand against Andrey Rublev in the Men’s Singles Quarterfinal match on day ten of the Internazionali BNL D’Italia at Foro Italico on May 14, 2026 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Emmanuele Ciancaglini/Getty Images)
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The steamroller that is Jannik Sinner keeps on rolling.
The world No. 1 dispatched Andrey Rublev, 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday, to reach the Italian Open semifinals.
It was Sinner’s 27th straight match win and his 32nd in a row at the Masters 1000 level, breaking a tie with Novak Djokovic, considered by many the GOAT
“The amazing thing about this 32 matches in a row, and almost all of them,” Jimmy Arias said on Tennis Channel, “he’s not losing sets to anyone.”
Sinner is seeking to become the first homegrown Italian Open champion since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
He will face either No. 7 Daniil Medvedev or Martín Landaluce in the semifinals.
“I don’t play for records, “ Sinner said. ”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.”
He has won eight of the nine Masters 1000s in his career, and is seeking to tie Djokovic’s record of nine.
Sinner has won four straight Masters 1000 titles this year and five straight overall.
“I felt like it was a bit breezy and a bit windy,” he said of beating Rublev. “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. Now I try to recover physically for tomorrow as much as I can. We’ll see what’s coming.”