It took just 14 minutes of the Madrid Open final for the 12,500 spectators packed into the Manolo Santana Stadium to collectively conclude that the match was already over. Down 0-3 and already desperately searching for a response to his opponent’s excellent play, Alexander Zverev opened his service game with two horribly missed hits on consecutive points.
As Zverev flailed helplessly during his pitiful 56 minutes on court, world number one Jannik Sinner put together another stunning display of relentless, destructive shooting combined with unwavering concentration as he continued his total domination of men’s tennis by destroying Zverev 6-1, 6-2 to capture the Madrid Open title for the first time in his career.
This is already one of the most notable winning streaks the sport has seen and it’s hard to see where it could end. Sinner is the first man in history to win five consecutive Masters 1000 titles and the first to win the first four Masters 1000 titles of the year. He has won 23 consecutive games.
In 2018, 31-year-old Novak Djokovic achieved one of tennis’ greatest achievements by becoming the first man to win all nine active Masters 1000 titles. Sinner has already won eight of them at only 24 years old. He will have the opportunity to complete the set at home at the Rome Masters, which begins this week.
No matchup represents Sinner’s dominance like this one. This is the first time in 10 years that the Madrid Open final has been played between the top two seeds, but the previous four finals between the top two seeds were played between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Andy Murray, all close matches involving four of the greatest men’s players in history.
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Today, with Carlos Alcaraz out indefinitely, the gap between the world number one and the rest of the field has never been wider in the modern era of men’s tennis. Sinner actually lost four of his first five matches against Zverev early in his career, but has now won his last nine matches, winning the last 14 sets they played. Sinner now has 14,350 ranking points, one of the highest totals in history, compared to Zverev’s 5,805 at No. 3.
The pair have faced off in each of Sinner’s last five Masters 1000 titles, reflecting Zverev’s consistency and ability to outperform the rest of his rivals. He is playing good tennis and winning the matches he is supposed to win. The player ranked ahead, however, plays a completely different sport.
