Madrid (AFP) – The Italian aspires to a record beyond what was achieved by the 'Big Three' of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. It is about winning five 1000 Masters in a row. For his part, the German wants to end a streak of three losses against Sinner in 2026.

First modification: 05/01/2026 - 18:11 Last modification: 05/02/2026 - 02:41

The world number one, the Italian Jannik Sinner, met this May 1 with the German Alexander Zverev for his first final of the Masters 1000 in Madrid, one of the few trophies missing from their showcases. Sinner easily beat Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-3, 6-4 this Friday in the semifinals.

"Of course, on Sunday I'll try to do even better, but whatever happens, I'm in another final of a major tournament," Sinner said.

The Italian, who had never made it past the quarterfinals in the Spanish capital, is still in the race to be the first to win five consecutive Masters 1000 after Paris, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo.

The one from San Cándido has already become, at 24 years old, the youngest player to reach the finals of the nine Masters 1000 on the circuit since the series began in 1990.

Sinner left few options for his rival, whom he had only faced once and had won in the semifinals of the Montpellier tournament in 2023 on a hard surface.

Delayed reaction

"I'm very happy, especially with the first set, it was of a high level, and I'm happy to have been able to close the match in two sets," added Sinner, after scoring his twenty-second consecutive victory.

Fils, the first Frenchman to play a semifinal in the Madrid Masters 1000 since Gilles Simon in 2008, was completely overwhelmed in the first set by his rival.

The Frenchman offered more resistance in the second set, where he managed to maintain parity on the scoreboard.

"It took me too long to adapt and react," he said after the game.

The Frenchman improved his serve, while Sinner also lowered the intensity of his game.

"The second set was much better on my part. I would say I had some opportunities, but I couldn't take advantage of them," Fils said.

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The young Frenchman managed to save two break points in the fifth game, but it only served to keep him alive until the ninth game, where Sinner broke his opponent's serve.

With 4-5 in favor, Sinner did not need more than the first of his two match points to close his pass to the final in Madrid.

Zverev, without failure against Blockx

Zverev, number three in the world, also brought out his best level against the young Belgian Alexander Blockx, whom he won 6-2, 7-5 to reach his fourth final in Madrid.

"I'm looking forward to playing against him (Sinner) again. I've played against him three times this year and he's beaten me three times, but I'm looking forward to the new challenge," Zverev said after his qualification.

The German, winner in Madrid in 2018 and 2021, fell against the Italian in the semifinals of Monte Carlo, Miami and Indian Wells.

"He is the best player in the world and I only hope to offer him a tough battle," he added.

Zverev gave no option this Friday to Blockx, who had caused the surprise in the quarterfinals by eliminating the current champion of the tournament, the Norwegian Casper Ruud.

The German proved intractable in the first set with his serve, without conceding a single break point to his rival.

Blockx managed to balance the match a little more in the second set, although Zverev continued without slowing down.

Clinging to his serve, the Belgian saved nine break points until Zverev managed to break his rival's serve in the only opportunity he had in the eleventh game to go up 6-5.

The German had nothing left but to close the set and the match with his serve in one hour and 36 minutes.

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