ATP Tour

Sinner highlights building blocks behind record M1000 streak: ‘I like the journey’

Jannik Sinner went where no ATP Tour star has gone before on Sunday afternoon at the Mutua Madrid Open.

By defeating Alexander Zverev to claim the trophy at the clay-court event in the Spanish capital, Sinner registered his fifth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 title, a tally that not even the ‘Big Three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic can match. Yet Sinner, who has followed his Paris title run last November by claiming titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Madrid this year, was quick to dispel any direct comparisons with his latest achievement.

“As I always said, I cannot compare myself with Rafa, Roger, Novak,” said the 24-year-old at his post-match press conference in Madrid. “What they did, it's something incredible. I don't play for these records, or I don't play for records in general. I play for myself. I play for my team, because they know what's behind. Also my family, because with the success I've had, they also never changed how they are towards me… It means, of course, a lot, great numbers. But there is a lot of discipline, a lot of sacrifice behind this.

“There's also daily routines that I put in. I'm the first person who needs to be ready in the morning to wake up. I like the journey. I like to put myself in the best possible position to be the best version of myself. I don't play for other records. As I said, what the other players did in the past, and Novak's still doing, it's something incredible. I cannot compare myself with them.”

Sinner, who eased past Zverev 6-1, 6-2 in the Madrid final, has dropped just two sets across the 27 matches in his current Masters 1000 winning streak. The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings did not want to name a ‘most difficult’ match during his run, which has come across indoor hard courts, outdoor hard courts and clay.

“Talking about tough matches, every match is tough,” Sinner said. “There is not one that's easy. Also today, if I dropped a little bit of concentration, break back in the second, and, you know, everything starts over again.

“So it's tough to say, different conditions all the time. Paris is indoor. Then you go to Indian Wells, very bouncy. Miami is very flat. Then you go change surface, you go to Monaco, it's a bit slower. Then you go here, it's very high altitude, and if you serve well it's a lot to do. But it's tough to say, and I don't want to pick couple of matches.”

Sinner may seem near-unstoppable in this moment, but that is not likely to deter the 28-time tour-level champion from seeking even further improvement in his game. In a sport in which time rarely stands still, he was keen to highlight the emergence of new talents ultimately aiming to challenge him at the top of the game.

“There are great players, players we know, [and also players] who seem like they are coming, and they are actually there already. You never know. Someone like [Rafael] Jodar, six months ago, nobody saw, and he's now here around the names. Maybe this can happen in a couple of months, there is a new player coming. [Alexander] Blockx made semis here, and before he was a little bit undercover.

“It's very tough to say. I think great potential players, every one of them. You need to be ready. You need to inform yourself. With every name that's going to come, you need to be very much informed. Of course, my job is always to improve as a player, because at the end of the day the results are only a consequence of how much work you put in. We are definitely working very well, but we need to keep going because if you drop a little bit, people are going to catch very fast. So I'm very happy to keep working.”