Sports02 May 2026

Sinner cruises past Fils to reach Madrid Open final

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.

Source - Reuters
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