ROME: Jannik Sinner reached the semifinals of the Italian Open on Thursday after beating Andrey Rublev and setting a new record for consecutive wins in Masters 1000 tournaments.
Another straight-sets victory, this time 6-2, 6-4 over Rublev, took Sinner to 32 straight wins in the ATP’s top-ranked events, one more than the previous record set by Novak Djokovic in 2011.
“I don’t play for records, I play just for my own story,” Sinner said on court.
“At the same time, it means a lot to me, but tomorrow is another day, another opponent, a different opponent.”
Rublev was Sinner’s first seeded opponent at this year’s tournament in Rome, and the World No. 1 made short work of the task in front of a delighted centre court crowd.
Home favourite Luciano Darderi battled past Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar 7-6(5), 5-7, 6-0 in a three-hour epic that stretched into the early hours of Thursday to reach the semifinals and extend the best Masters 1000 run of his career.
Fresh from a statement victory over second seed Alexander Zverev in the previous round, the Italian carried his momentum into a late-night quarterfinal on Campo Centrale, where a lively crowd stayed despite rain delays pushing the schedule deep into the evening.
“I think it’s the best win of my career because of the crowd and everything here in Rome,” Darderi said in his on-court interview.
“First time in the semifinals, it’s a dream to play here. It was difficult because we started around 11, the court was very slow... I just kept fighting and I’m very happy about that.”
Darderi will face Casper Ruud in the semifinals after the Norwegian beat Russia’s Karen Khachanov 6-1, 1-6, 6-2 earlier on Wednesday. Agencies
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