It is one of those days when Jannik Sinner’s tennis cuts through the wind. Pure harmony, clean and firm movements, heavyweight hitting. That backhand travels exactly where the thinking head of the Italian wants it to go, who arrived at the Caja Mágica two weeks ago without being entirely sure how he would feel —“it is the most challenging tournament due to the conditions, we will see”— and after five rounds of adaptation and refinement, he is in the place he intended: another final for him, the fourth in a row, first in Madrid. The proud resistance of the second set is of little use to the good Arthur Fils. The young Frenchman, recent winner of the Godó, also succumbs: 6-2 and 6-4, after 1h 26m.
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“He’s getting hammered…”, is heard shortly before in the stands, when that first burst again marks the dividing line between him, the number one, and another of those guys who aspire to enter a territory that is absolutely forbidden to them for now. If it’s not Sinner, it’s Carlos Alcaraz, and if it’s not Alcaraz, it’s Sinner. That’s the summary. Now off the scene is the Spaniard, injured, the one from San Candido arrived in the San Fermín neighborhood with the logical concern of how his tennis (and also his body) would react to such a complex setting, and the conclusion is clear: if the win in Monte Carlo already gave him the label of favorite on the tour, the absence of the Murcian and the run of these days reinforce it.
In case there was any doubt, Sinner tightens: “I tried to be aggressive. I knew it was going to be demanding, I’m satisfied with today’s level. It has been a very good day,” he says after sealing the victory, the 350th of his career at the elite level and also one that rounds off an exceptional performance in the Masters 1000. Having reached the final in the Spanish capital, from Sunday he will have played them all, the nine of a category that started in 1990 —formerly known as Masters Series— and that until now only counted the full sets of the Swiss Roger Federer (with 30), Rafael Nadal (27), and the Serbian Novak Djokovic (25). At 24, the redhead keeps adding up, unstoppable in this spring translated into a monologue.
He hasn’t lost a match since Jakub Mensik beat him in Doha on February 19. From there, one bite after another: Indian Wells, Miami, the Principality. And now he aims, with 22 consecutive wins and up to 27 in a row in the thousand, to achieve a historic five-win streak, since no one has linked five wins in the category. He will now face Alexander Zverev or Alexander Blockx — at 20:00 — after another display of skills against Fils. Rhythm, precision, hierarchy. A very wide superiority. The Frenchman, hope of his country, leaves satisfied having scraped those games and the feeling is fed: barring contingency, the tour again hints at a military parade.
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