First career final for Jannik Sinner in the Master 1000 in Madrid. The world number 1 overcame the Frenchman Arthur Fils (no. 25 in the ATP ranking) in two sets with a score of 6-2, 6-4 in an hour and 25 minutes and without allowing break points. In the final, scheduled today at 5pm, the South Tyrolean will face the German n.3 Alexander Zverev, winner of the other semi-final against the Belgian Alexander Blockx.
By beating Frenchman Arthur Fils in the semifinals at the Mutua Madrid Open, Jannik Sinner added another record to his list of firsts. At 24, he is the youngest to have reached the final at least once in all nine Masters 1000s since this category of tournaments was introduced to the calendar in 1990. Before him, Roger Federer at 30, Rafa Nadal at 27 and Novak Djokovic at 25 had managed to complete the en plein. The Serbian, who has played more finals than anyone in the Masters 1000, is also the only one to having won them all at least once. To emulate Sinner, only the Mutua Madrid Open and the Internazionali BNL d’Italia remain to be won.
Sinner: “Happy to be able to play for another title”
«I’m happy to be able to play in another final, I’ve never gotten there before. In the first set I felt really comfortable on returns. In the second, things got more difficult because he served better.” Jannik Sinner is happy to have become the first finalist of the Mutua Madrid Open 2026. The world no.1 defeated Arthur Fils (seeding no.25 and no.21) with a score of 62 64, thus reaching the first final of his career on the red clay of Caja Magica.
“I’m happy with today’s match – adds the South Tyrolean – because he is playing like one of the best, I’m pleased to have challenged him. Towards the end of the tournament I always try to raise the level, and today the conditions were a little different compared to the quarter-finals, but I adapted very well. Sunday will be difficult, but I’m happy to be able to play for another title. It’s another incredible tournament for me, I’m happy with the level I expressed today especially in the first set.”
With this victory, the 350th of his career on the major circuit, Sinner’s streak of consecutive matches won rises to 22. There are 27 if you only count the Masters 1000, considering that the last defeat dates back to last year’s Shanghai tournament. Only Nadal and Djokovic had played at least five consecutive finals in this category of tournaments, and only the Spaniard (2011) and Federer (2006) had reached the final in the first four «1000s» of a season. Of the two of them, however, no one has ever managed to win all four in the same year, so Sinner can aim for a feat never achieved before in history. To make it on Sunday, he will have to beat the winner of the second semi-final, one between Alexander Zverev (no. 3 and no. 2 in the seeding) and Alexander Blockx (no. 69).