May 1 (Reuters) – World number one Jannik Sinner powered into the Madrid Open final with a 6-2 6-4 victory over Arthur Fils on Friday, keeping alive his bid for a record fifth successive ATP Masters 1000 title.
The 24-year-old claimed his 27th win at Masters 1000 level, having lifted trophies in Paris last year and at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo in 2026.
Sinner also became only the fourth player to reach the final of all nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments – after Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, and Rafael Nadal – and the youngest to achieve the feat.
“Very happy about the general performance today,” Sinner said during his on-court interview.
“I am trying to play the best possible tennis I can play, in this moment. Today was a very good day in the office.”
Chasing his second clay-court title of the season, the Italian controlled the baseline exchanges and mixed in deft drop shots to hand Fils his first defeat on the surface this year.
The Frenchman offered more resistance in the second set, varying his play to stay in touch, but Sinner secured the decisive break before closing out the match in 85 minutes.
“I tried to play very aggressive. I felt very comfortable on return. In (the) second set, he started to serve better, so it became a bit difficult,” Sinner said.
“But I knew it before the match, he’s one of the best players in the world at the moment. I am very happy I’ve played against him. It means a lot to me.”
Sinner will meet the winner of the second semi-final between the two-time Madrid champion Alexander Zverev or Alexander Blockx in Sunday’s final.
(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in BengaluruEditing by Christian Radnedge)
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