Italian Jannik Sinner ended half a century of waiting for an Italian winner of the Rome Masters and by winning 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday’s final against Norwegian Casper Ruud, he became the second tennis player in history, along with Novak Djokovic, to win at least one title in all nine current Masters 1000 series tournaments.
It was her Sinner’s fifth win in the same number of head-to-head matches with Ruud and the 34th in a row at Masters 1000 tournaments, with which he extended that record streak.
The Norwegian entered the match well and took a 2-0 lead, taking advantage of the nervousness of the home favorite.
However, Sinner recovered very quickly, erased the deficit in the next game, and with another ‘break’ for 5-3 secured the advantage that brought him the first set.
The streak continued in the second set in which he took a 2-0 lead. Ruud got it only one chance to returnbut Sinner easily solved her in the eighth game. When given the opportunity to serve for the historic achievement, he did it the way he knows best and left Ruud scoreless.
With an indefensible forehand on the match ball, he started an avalanche of enthusiasm in the central stadium in Rome’s Foro Italico, where he was applauded by Adriano Panatta, the last Italian winner of this tournament in 1976.
⭐️ Jannik is the GOLD STANDARD ⭐️@janniksin completes the Career Golden Masters on home soil in Rome, defeating Ruud 6-4, 6-4! @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI26 pic.twitter.com/hjTtuV9lij
— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 17, 2026
At the age of 24, he became i the youngest to win all nine Masters 1000 tournamentsand he improved another of his records, because this is his sixth consecutive triumph at this level of the tournament, where he has not lost since Shanghai last year.
Doubles players Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori joined the great Italian celebration, defeating Spaniard Marcelo Granollers and Argentinian Horacio Zeballos in the final with 7-6 (8), 6-7 (3), 10-3 and thus became the first Italian tennis players in the Open era to win the Rome Masters.
(Hina | Photo: X)
