Jannik Sinner continued his remarkable run at Masters 1000 tournaments, securing a 25th straight victory at this level by defeating British No. 1 Cameron Norrie in the fourth round of the Madrid Open. The Italian triumphed 6-2, 7-5 in 87 minutes at the Manolo Santana Stadium, marking their first career meeting.
Sinner's Dominance Continues
The world No. 1, aiming for a fourth Masters 1000 title of the season, broke Norrie's serve five times and saved three break points. Norrie, who had never faced Sinner competitively, admitted before the match that the Italian “rips me up and smokes me” in practice. Sinner acknowledged their familiarity, stating, “We know each other quite well, we practised a lot in the last tournaments, so we both kind of knew what to expect.”
Despite the early 11 a.m. start, which Sinner called “quite unusual,” he adapted well. “I don't know the last time I played at 11, but for me it doesn't matter what time. I try to do my best… We try to adapt ourselves, our bodies and our minds. From my side, it was a good performance today,” he said on Sky Sports.
Path to the Quarter-Finals
Sinner will face either local favourite Rafael Jodar or Vit Kopriva in the quarter-finals. He is bidding to win the Madrid title for the first time, having never advanced beyond the quarter-finals here. “This surface is very, very different than all the other surfaces so it’s very tough to get the right feedback and sometimes you feel like you’re not playing your best. But I’m very happy to be here in the quarters again,” he added.
Norrie, who was close to dropping out of the top 100 a year ago, is set to return to the top 20 next week. The British No. 1 tried an underarm serve in the second set to disrupt Sinner's rhythm, but it was not enough. Sinner's only blip came when he was broken to love at 4-3 in the second set, allowing Norrie to level, but the Brit dropped serve again at 5-5, sealing Sinner's victory.
Other Results
Frenchman Arthur Fils, on an eight-match winning streak after winning the Barcelona Open last week, beat Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4. The 21st seed will face either sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti or 11th seed Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals.
