MADRID – World No. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev in the final of the Madrid Open to win his first title, becoming the first male player to win five consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments.
Sinner defeated No. 3 Zverev 6-1, 6-2 on Sunday for his 23rd consecutive win. He had already won this year’s Monte Carlo, Miami, Indian Wells and last year’s Masters 1000 tournament in Paris.
“I think there’s a lot of effort behind it,” Sinner said. “I’ve put in a lot of dedication and sacrifice every day. Obviously, seeing results like this means a lot to me.”
Zverev lost to Sinner in the semifinals of these tournaments. He won in Madrid in 2018 and 2021, and was runner-up behind Carlos Alcaraz in 2022.
“Of course he is very good, but in fairness he could have beaten anyone today. I think he played a terrible tennis game today,” Zverev said.
Sinner, who comfortably defeated Zverev at the Caja Magica Tennis Complex in Madrid, converted all four break points he earned and faced no break points himself. Sinner had never made it past the quarter-finals in his previous three appearances for Madrid.
“I’m so happy that I continued to believe in myself,” Sinner said. “I go to every practice session every day and try to do the right job with the right discipline. For that you need the right team behind you and I have that. I’m very happy not only for myself but also for the team. This means a lot to all of us.”
The 24-year-old Sinner will next play in Rome, where he will be looking to lift the trophy at the only Masters 1000 tournament he has yet to win. The Italian is aiming to join Novak Djokovic as the only men to complete a career Golden Masters. The Serbs won all nine tournaments twice.
“It’s very simple,” Zverev said. “I think there’s a big gap between Sinner and everyone else.”
In Saturday’s women’s final, Marta Kostyuk (Ukraine) defeated Mila Andreeva (Russia) 7-5, 6-3.
