Sinner Completes Career Golden Masters in Historic Rome Victory
Jannik Sinner defeats Casper Ruud to join Novak Djokovic in exclusive club, positioning himself as French Open favourite ahead of Alcaraz’s injury absence.
Jannik Sinner has secured the Italian Open men’s singles title, defeating Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the final on Sunday to complete his career Golden Masters. The victory makes the 24-year-old only the second player in history, following Novak Djokovic, to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 events. It also marks the first time an Italian man has claimed the Rome title since Adriano Panatta’s triumph in 1976.
Speaking after the match at the Foro Italico, Sinner acknowledged the significance of the achievement on home soil. “There’s no better place to complete this set,” he said. “For an Italian, it’s one of the most special places we play tennis in. To win at least once in my career means a lot to me.” Djokovic, who completed the set in 2018 at age 31, congratulated Sinner on social media, welcoming him to the “exclusive club.”
The win extends Sinner’s winning streak to 29 matches, a run that has not been interrupted since his quarterfinal defeat to Jakub Mensik at the Qatar Open on 19 February. He has maintained a perfect 17-0 record on clay courts this season. With his primary rival, Carlos Alcaraz, sidelined by a right wrist injury, Sinner is now widely considered the favourite for the French Open, which begins on Sunday.
The atmosphere at Campo Centrale was described by Italian Tennis Federation President Angelo Binaghi as comparable to a major football match, with the capacity crowd of 10,500 chanting Sinner’s name. Italian President Sergio Mattarella attended the final, and former champion Panatta, now 75, was present at the trophy ceremony. Sinner specifically acknowledged Panatta after the match, stating, “Adriano, after 50 years, we’ve won back a very important trophy.”
In addition to the singles title, the day was historic for Italian tennis in other categories. Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori won the men’s doubles title, becoming the first Italian pair to do so since 1960. Earlier in the week, Elina Svitolina secured the women’s singles title, continuing a trend of domestic success following Jasmine Paolini’s victory last year. Sinner’s only remaining Grand Slam title to secure is at Roland Garros, having previously won two Australian Open titles, as well as Wimbledon and the US Open.
