Jannik Sinner continued his reign of terror over men’s tennis on the clay courts of Europe as he effortlessly recovered from a slow start to overpower Casper Ruud, the 23rd seed, 6-4, 6-4 and become the first Italian man in 50 years to win the Italian Open in Rome.
It is difficult to overstate the historic nature of this triumph. Sinner is only the second man in history to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles. This feat, one of the most impressive in the sport, was first achieved by Novak Djokovic in 2018 at the age of 31. Sinner has completed his set at just 24 years old, still seemingly with so much more to achieve in the sport.
Sinner has also extended his record for consecutive Masters 1000 wins by becoming the first man to win six consecutive titles in total and to win the first five in a season. He is also the only person other than Rafael Nadal in 2010 to win all three clay-court Masters 1000 titles in a year. On a more personal note, Sinner is the first Italian man to triumph in the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
“There’s no better place to complete this set,” said Sinner. “It has been a very, very interesting tournament already back in the years. 2019, making my debut here on this court. I always felt a lot of, like in a different way, a very positive but different way, a lot of attention, a lot of emotions going through. It means a lot. I believe for an Italian, it’s one of the most special places we play tennis. To win at least once in my career means a lot to me.”
In the injury-enforced absence of Carlos Alcaraz, his conqueror in Rome and at Roland Garros last year, not a single player has proved he can consistently compete with the No 1, who continues to perform at an incredible level every time he steps on the court. Although he is seeking his first title, Sinner will head to Paris more heavily favoured to win than any player in recent memory aside from Nadal.
There were more than a few indications of the significance of this occasion in Italy. The Italian president, Sergio Mattarella, watched from behind the baseline and, alongside Panatta, he entered the court after the match to personally present Sinner with the trophy.
“It’s amazing the support an Italian gets here, especially in Rome,” said Sinner. “Many important people were coming today. I tried to not look a lot outside of the court and trying to be as focused as I could. But, for sure, they gave me very positive feelings.”
