Jannik Sinner continued his dominant run with a comfortable win over Andrey Rublev on Thursday.
Sinner dispatched Rublev 6-2, 6-4 in the Italian Open quarterfinals, and in the process, surpassed Novak Djokovic’s record for most consecutive match wins at ATP Masters 1000 events with 32.
The Italian has not lost a match since his quarterfinal exit at the Qatar Open to Jakub Mensik, which marked his second defeat of the 2026 season.
Rublev later spoke to reporters about what it would take for someone to finally stop Sinner’s momentum.
Andrey Rublev reacts after loss to Jannik Sinner in Rome
When asked in his post-match press conference if he felt unable to defeat Sinner during their match, Rublev responded: “No, I was not thinking this.
“It was just I was fighting, keep doing everything I can and we see what’s going to happen. Yes, it takes you a lot of effort and focus to maintain this level.
“Some matches, maybe you miss one ball with the first shot, then the guy miss, 15-All. Here, you miss one ball, Love-15, then return comes deep. If you don’t play this ball good, it’s Love-30. That’s the difference.”
Speaking about who might end Sinner’s run of form soon in 2026: “Let’s see. Alcaraz beats him many times.
“It’s true that both of them on top of the other players. So let’s see. The year still is going. The more players are coming, so let’s see.”
Andrey Rublev admits his mistakes in Jannik Sinner defeat
Rublev appeared to be mounting a comeback in the second set, even breaking Sinner’s serve at one point. However, Sinner ultimately secured his third consecutive win over Rublev, bringing their overall head-to-head record to 8-1 in favour of the Italian.
Speaking after the match, Rublev said: “The impression was, as I said, to be able to play against him, you need to be able to maintain focus on a high level to be able to play that level consistently.
“Like I was explaining before, at 4-2, for example, I already drop a bit the focus and did easy mistakes. He didn’t even do anything. Without that, he broke me.
“He did like a few mistakes once. Only maybe second set 4-3 when he was set up and break, 40-Love. Hit double.
“Forehand, backhand mistake. Until then he wasn’t giving me free points. You have to force him to miss or you have to go for a shot to make a winner.”
Sinner has now defeated every player inside the ATP top 10 during his current winning streak. His next test will come against Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.
Rublev has not beaten Sinner since their match at the Canadian Open back in 2024.
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