Italy’s Jannik Sinner celebrates winning his quarter-final match against Russia’s Andrey Rublev.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Jannik Sinner reached the semifinals of the Italian Open on Thursday (May 14, 2026) after seeing off Andrey Rublev and establishing a new record of consecutive wins in Masters 1000 tournaments.
Another straight-sets victory, this time 6-2, 6-4 over Rublev, moved Sinner up to 32 straight wins in the ATP’s top-ranked events, one more than the previous record established by Novak Djokovic in 2011.
“I don’t play for records; I play just for my own story,” said Sinner on court.
“At the same time, it means a lot to me, but tomorrow is another day, another opponent, a different opponent.”
Rublev was Sinner’s first seeded opponent at this year’s tournament in Rome and the World No. 1 made short work of his task in front of a delighted centre court.
On Friday (May 15, 2026), Sinner could face Daniil Medvedev, winner of the 2023 title at the Foro Italico, with the seventh seed taking on lucky loser Martin Landaluce.
Sinner looks near unbeatable at the moment and with his great rival Carlos Alcaraz out injured, he is the heavy favourite to become the first Italian to win the Rome title in five decades, with a potential career Grand Slam on the cards at the French Open.
Rublev offered little resistance, the Russian dropping his own serve in the first game of both sets to give Sinner a handy leg up and committing 28 unforced errors in 18 games.
Sinner, meanwhile, showed flashes of his best tennis but also started to look tired towards the end of the match, visibly touching his left thigh before confidently serving for the match.
“However it goes it will be a win for me; if I win great but even if things don’t go well, that’s ok because I’ll have a few more days to prepare for Paris, which is my main objective this year.”
Gauff in final
Coco Gauff followed Sinner by reaching the Rome final for the second straight year after beating veteran Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3. The American star has struggled on clay this season, with a last-16 exit in the Madrid Open coming after a disappointing run to the quarterfinals in Stuttgart.
But she dealt with Romanian Cirstea — who is set to retire at the end of the year — professionally as Spring sunshine burst out on centre court, helped by a marked improvement in her often erratic service game.
Published – May 15, 2026 02:00 am IST
