Forty-six minutes into one of the most highly anticipated matches of the clay-court season, Casper Ruud triumphantly raised both hands to the sky and struggled to suppress a smile. Ruud, however, was not cheering the completion of a successful set or even a singular, spectacular point; he was commemorating sarcastically the very first game he had won.
It was the only thing Ruud had to cheer all night as Jannik Sinner pieced together a remarkable statement performance under the lights in Rome, underlining his enduring status as the best player in the world by completely demolishing Ruud, the sixth seed, 6-0, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Italian Open.
