Jannik Sinner wasted no time whatsoever booking his place in the fourth round of the Italian Open on Monday.
The world number one defeated Alexei Popyrin in straight sets, 6-2, 6-0, with the match lasting just over an hour.
Sinner‘s triumph meant he is now the first player to start 25-0 at the first five ATP Masters 1000 events of a calendar year, since the format’s inception in 1990.
Can any of these four players stop Jannik Sinner winning the French Open this year?
Is there anyone else you think could be a threat to Sinner?
This season, he has clinched titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Madrid, and if he wins the Italian Open, he will become just the second ever to complete the Career Golden Masters, joining Novak Djokovic.
Following Sinner’s victory, former British player Annabel Croft had high praise for the Italian.
Annabel Croft reacts to Jannik Sinner’s dominant win in Rome
Reacting on Sky Sports, Croft said: “Such a dominant performance. An hour and five minutes. Popyrin, you have to feel for him.
“He took a bit of a hiding out here, and he didn’t even play that badly. It wasn’t like he just hit loads of unforced errors and couldn’t hit the ball. He was just being absolutely outclassed in every department.
“And, you know, once that big serve is taken away by those outstanding returns of serve, as we said, right from the world go, it’s neutralised the point, and then you have to favour Sinner with the authority he hits from the back of the court.
“Just shrinking the court down his end and just absolutely pummelling balls into the corners left, right and centre. There is just no faffing around. He just gets on with the job. What a performance!
Is men’s tennis boring without Carlos Alcaraz?
“I mean, it’s going to take something to stop this man at the moment. He’s just so clinical from the back of the court. The quality of the ball striking, the way that he controls the ball, but with aggression and with rotation and spin on the ball that keeps control as well as pace.
“It’s the depth of it that makes it virtually impossible to attack him. And it’s the way that he plays with such balance from the back of the court as well. Even if you try to get him on the move, he moves so efficiently.
“You can barely hear the footwork. He just glides across the court, very much the way we used to talk about Federer. And the serving, perfection. There’s so much to admire in his game.”
Jannik Sinner speaks after beating Alexei Popyrin in Rome
In his on-court interview, Sinner said of the windy conditions: “I feel like it was one way and the wind, so you don’t have to change a lot.
“At the same time, when you play with the wind, you try to move the ball a little bit more around. When you are against the wind, I’m someone who tries to go quite flat.
“But look, it has been a very good performance from my side. It was very tricky conditions.
“He’s a big server, so his percentage was not very high, which helped me for sure a little bit, but I’ve been returning very well, the second serves, and I’m extremely happy to be in the next round.”
Sinner will take on compatriot Andrea Pellegrino in the fourth round of the Italian Open.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
