Jannik Sinner became the first man to win five consecutive Masters 1,000 titles after beating Alexander Zverev in straight sets to win the Madrid Open.
The Italian top seed completed a stunning 6-1 6-2 victory in 58 minutes against the world number three to achieve his record-breaking feat.
Sinner, 24, won the first three ATP 1,000 events of the season in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, and also triumphed five months ago in Paris.
“I think there’s a lot of work behind this. I put in a lot of dedication and sacrifice every day. Obviously, it means a lot to me to see these results,” said Sinner, who has now beaten Zverev in nine straight matches.
“At some point, the results are going to go down, which is normal. I’m very happy that I continued to believe in myself. I’m there every day, in every practice session, trying to do the right job with the right discipline.”
Sinner surpassed the mark of Novak Djokovic, who won four consecutive events on three occasions, and the Spanish Rafael Nadal, who triumphed in four consecutive tournaments in 2013.
Djokovic also lifted five trophies in a row on two occasions, between Indian Wells and the Canadian Open in 2011, and from the 2014 Paris Masters to the 2015 Rome Masters, but did not play in Monte Carlo and Madrid respectively in between those streaks.
The 38-year-old Serbian is also the only player to have completed the ‘Golden Masters’ of his career by winning all nine Masters titles, something Sinner can match if he triumphs in Rome next week.