Sinner wins the Italian Open to complete his career Golden Masters | Tennis

Sinner, the first Italian to win in 50 years, enters the French Open as favorite Alcaraz after injury.

Jannik Sinner has completed the abandoned Golden Masters in tennis to become only the second man after Novak Djokovic to win all nine Masters 1000 events – the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams.

Sinner’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Casper Ruud in Sunday’s Italian Open final also made him the first Italian to win the tournament since Adriano Panatta in 1976.

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“There’s no better place to finish this set,” Sinner said after winning the title and completing the red clay of the Foro Italico in front of the jubilant home fans, who saw a half-century wait come to an end.

“For an Italian, it’s one of the most special places where we play tennis. One win in my career means a lot to me.”

Djokovic finished the career set in 2018 in Cincinnati at the age of 31 – and then won every tournament at least twice. The sinner is 24 years old, and his only opponent, Carlos Alcaraz, is currently on the sidelines because of right hand injuryit seems that no one can defeat him.

“Welcome to an exclusive club, Jannik,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram.

Sinner extended his winning streak to 29 matches. He has not lost since losing to Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open quarterfinals on February 19. And he is now 17-0 on clay this year entering the French Open, which starts on Sunday.

Sinner celebrated calmly as usual, flashing a big smile as he fell to the front of the line in his first race, then visibly held his hands over his head. Then he waved to the group, which included Panatta who was sitting in the front.

“Adriano, after 50 years, we have won a very important trophy again,” Sinner told the 75-year-old Panatta, who attended the victory ceremony.

Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam that Sinner has not won: he has two Australian Open titles and has won Wimbledon and the US Open once each.

Sinner’s win came – with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in attendance – after losing last year’s Rome final to Alcaraz in his first game back. three months of doping ban. The defeat came a day after Jasmine Paolini in 2025 became the first Italian woman to win the title in Rome in 40 years – when she also took two goals with teammate Sara Errani.

With many fans of the Sinner dressed in orange – the color of his head, which matches his curly hair – the crowd of 10,500 people at Campo Centrale made a football match and sang with great enthusiasm for the player who has been far and away the fastest in Italy.

After several key points, the crowd chanted “Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole; Sin-ner, Sin-ner.” Then there was another call during the trophy presentation.

Angelo Binaghi, president of the Italian tennis federation, said that even if there were a 25,000-seat court in Rome – bigger than the US Open’s Arthur Ashe Stadium, the biggest tennis stadium in the world – it would be full.

No signs of fatigue

Sinner overcame fatigue to beat Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals in a rain-delayed match that took two days to complete. But there were no signs of fatigue against the 25-year-old Ruud, who has been one of the best players on clay for years.

Ruud reached two finals at Roland Garros, losing to Rafael Nadal in 2022 and Novak Djokovic in 2023. But the Norwegian lost a break and a 2-0 advantage at the beginning of the first round against Sinner, who quickly broke and broke again at the end of the set with the help of three key points – two of Ruud were fired well.

The best of the line gave Sinner another break in the opening game of the second set.

The sinner improved to 5-0 in his career against Ruud.

“What you’re doing this year, it’s hard to put into words,” Ruud told Sinner at the victory ceremony. “It’s an honor to watch you play. … Great for making history.”

A day to remember in Italy

It was a very special day for the hosts after Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori became the first Italian pair to win the men’s doubles title in Rome since 1960.

Bolelli and Vavassori beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 7-6 (8), 6-7 (3), 10-3.

For the singles and finals, there was also a packed crowd watching the jumbo on the Pietrangeli court next to Campo Centrale.

Elina Svitolina beat Coco Gauff in the women’s singles on Saturday.