World No 1 Jannik Sinner remains on course to win five straight Masters 1000 titles after swatting aside Arthur Fils to reach the Mutua Madrid Open final on Friday.
The 24-year-old Italian dismantled Frenchman Fils 6-2 6-4 to reach his fifth consecutive final at Masters 1000 level, completing a polished victory inside Manolo Santana Stadium after 85 minutes.
Entering the match on a nine-match winning streak, highlighted by his triumph in Barcelona, Fils was outclassed as Sinner delivered a razor-sharp performance.
“I tried to be very aggressive,” said Sinner, who dropped just three of 24 first-serve points, and did not face a break point. “I felt very comfortable on the return. In the second set, he started to serve better, so it was more difficult.
“But I’m very happy about the general performance today. I’m trying to play the best possible tennis, but 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 knew it before the match: He is one of the best players in the world at the moment,” Sinner said of Fils.
“I’m very happy that I played against him. He is very good for tennis, for the sport.”
Tale of the Tape
With his victory, Sinner 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.
He has now won 27 consecutive matches at this level, a streak that includes titles in Paris last year and Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo in 2026.
Andy Murray reached the final at eight, with the exception being Monte-Carlo.
Sinner is an eight-time Masters 1000 champion, having won his first title at this level in Toronto in 2023.
If he wins the title in Madrid, and then triumphs in Rome, Sinner would complete the career Golden Masters.
Record 40-time Masters 1000 champion Djokovic is the only player to have achieved the feat.
Sinner will meet two-time Madrid champion Alexander Zverev or 21-year-old Belgian Alexander Blockx in Sunday’s final.
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