ROME — Jannik Sinner is two wins away from becoming the first domestic male player to win the Italian Open in half a century. And no one seems to be able to stop him, either in Rome or at the French Open, which begins in 10 days.
Top-ranked Sinner made a number of shots at the line in a 6-2, 6-4 win over 14th-ranked Andrei Rublev, advancing to the semifinals on Thursday and beating Novak Djokovic at the Masters 1000, the biggest non-Grand Slam tournament, for a record 32 consecutive wins.
“I’m not playing for records. I’m just playing for my own story. And obviously at the same time, it means a lot to me,” Sinner said.
The last Italian player to lift a singles trophy on the red dirt of the Foro Italico was Adriano Panatta in 1976. Panatta is scheduled to award the title to this year’s champion on Sunday, with Italian President Sergio Mattarella expected to attend the final.
“This is a special tournament for me,” Sinner said.
Sinner’s semi-final opponent will be 2023 Roman champion Daniil Medvedev, who made his comeback by defeating Spanish qualifier Martin Landaluce 1-6, 6-4, 7-5.
The other semi-final will pit Norway’s Casper Ruud against Argentine-born Italian Luciano Daldelli.
One group of fans held a placard that read, “Sinners, Facce Sogna,” or “Sinners, give us a dream.”
Sinner lost in last year’s final in Rome to Carlos Alcaraz, who is currently sidelined with a right wrist injury, but in 2025 Jasmine Paolini will become the first Italian woman to lift the trophy in 40 years.
Sinner broke serve in three straight games in the opening match and never lost control, even against Rublev, who was once ranked fifth.
Rublev realized that “there were a lot of points where he played very well or close to the line or on the line. But he’s number one and that’s normal. You have to force him to make mistakes and it takes a lot of concentration to be able to play at that level.”
Sinner made just one mistake, when Rublev broke him late in the second set.
“It was a little bit windy and it was very windy so the conditions were very tough,” Sinner said. “I felt like neither of us played our best today.”
Sinner said he felt tired toward the end.
“I’m fine. It’s normal to have some days during the tournament when you’re a little tired,” he said. “It was a very long day for me.”
Djokovic won 31 consecutive Masters in 2011.
Including all tournaments, Sinner’s winning streak reached 27 games. He last lost to Jakub Mencik in the quarterfinals of the Qatar Open on February 19, and has not dropped a set since his first match at the Madrid Open.
Sinner is also aiming to become the second man after Djokovic to win all nine Masters tournaments. Djokovic has won each tournament at least twice.
The Italian Open is the only Masters tournament that Sinner has not won.
Coco Gauff returns to finals
In the women’s tournament, Coco Gauff defeated 36-year-old Solana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final for the second year in a row.
Gauff will face two-time Rome champion Elina Svitolina in the final after the Ukrainian defeated three-time champion Iga Swiatek 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.
Gauff saved a match point in the fourth round with a three-set victory over Iva Jovic and came back from a set down to defeat Mila Andreeva in the quarterfinals.
Against Kirstea, Gauff completed 78% of her first serves and committed just one double fault.
“I’m really happy to win in straight sets today,” Gauff said. “It was marathon week.”
Gauff lost to Paolini in the 2025 Rome final, but went on to win the French Open.
Svitolina won in Rome in 2017 and 2018.
