Jannik Sinner delivered one of the performances of the year yesterday afternoon as he cruised through his quarter-final match with Casper Ruud in just 63 minutes, 6-0, 6-1.
Ahead of their clash, many were siding with the Norwegian given his clay-court prowess, but it took just seconds for any faith in him to subside.
With deep, thunderous returns and rock-solid serving, combined with his crisp and ruthless groundstrokes, Casper Ruud really stood no chance.
And in beating the world number seven, the Italian has actually moved a step closer to making history.
Jannik Sinner closes in on history with win over Casper Ruud
The history in question is one that was previously shared by the legendary Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, with the latter holding the crown, and the former trailing just behind him.
Well, Jannik Sinner has now crashed that party, overtaking the Ice Man and breathing down the neck of the American.
Relayed by Tennis Channel, they revealed that McEnroe’s long-held record details that, in 1984, he won 28 straight sets against fellow top-ten opponents. Borg, by comparison, had won 23 in 1978.
Sinner now sits between the two on 24, but will have a tough time extending that record should he bypass Tommy Paul in the semi-finals to set up a showdown with the returning world number two, Carlos Alcaraz.
A near-perfect Jannik Sinner set at the Italian Open
As the pundits on Sky Sports Tennis were claiming at the time, Sinner’s first-set performance was as close to perfection as you are ever likely to see. There was simply nothing that his opponent could do.
The 26-year-old is a more-than-capable clay-court player, and had even won his first-ever Masters 1000 event on the surface earlier that month when Ruud beat Draper in Madrid.
So, to see him dispatched so comfortably sent shockwaves throughout the tennis community.
During the opening six games, which were all Sinner needed to claim the set, the hometown hero allowed his opponent just seven points, winning the opening game on Ruud’s serve to love before then holding with ease as well.
Already, a marker had been set, and he did not relent after that. Ruud failed to hit a single winner until the 33rd minute, by which time the second set had already started.
A true beatdown from the racket of Sinner, Tommy Paul will have been watching on with both intrigue and fear.
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