ATP Tour

Sinner joins Djokovic with Masters 1000 streak following latest Rome win

Jannik Sinner joined Novak Djokovic as just the second man to win his first 25 ATP Masters 1000 matches of the season on Monday. The Italian continued his perfect start to the year at this level with a 6-2, 6-0 triumph against Alexei Popyrin at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings became the first player to triumph at five consecutive Masters 1000 events eight days ago in Madrid, having also won titles in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo in the past six months.

Competing in his second match this fortnight in Rome, Sinner flew out of the blocks to break Popyrin's serve in the opening game. The Italian delighted the home crowd with many perfectly timed deft drop shots and was not afraid to pull the trigger in the baseline exchanges en route to a dominant win in the pair's fourth Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting (3-1 Sinner).

"On the conditions, I feel like the wind was one way," said Sinner, who committed just one backhand unforced error in the match. "I didn't have to change a lot, but in the same time, when you play with wind, you try to move the ball a bit more around. When you are against the wind, I try to go quite flat.

"It was a very good performance. He is a big server and his percentage was not very high, which helped me a little bit. But I have been returning the second serves very well and I am happy to be in the next round."

Sinner lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the Rome final 12 months ago. Back into the fourth round, Sinner would become just the second man, alongside Djokovic, to complete the Career Golden Masters (winning all nine Masters 1000 events) since the series began in 1990 if he lifts the trophy this week. The 24-year-old next meets World No. 155 Andrea Pellegrino.

With his 65-minute win against Popyrin, Sinner extended his Masters 1000 match-winning streak to 30, the second-longest run in series history. The 24-year-old has not lost a match at this level since he retired during his third-round clash against Tallon Griekspoor in Shanghai in October.

Longest M1000 Win Streaks

With five of those victories coming in 2025 in Paris, Sinner has now won 25 consecutive matches at the level in 2026. Only Djokovic (31) in 2011 holds a better record, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.

Did You Know?
Sinner is aiming to become the first Italian men's singles champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976.