Top-seeded Jannik Sinner recorded his 22nd consecutive victory and second-seeded Alexander Zverev also won his semifinal match on Friday to set up a top-flight title-match pairing at the Mutua Madrid Open.
Sinner cruised to a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 21 Arthur Fils of France in his semi to reach the Madrid championship match for the first time. On Sunday, the Italian will try to become the first men’s player to win five straight Masters 1000-level tournaments.
“I’m very happy about the general performance today. I’m trying to play the best possible tennis. Today was a very good day in the office,” Sinner said after prevailing in 86 minutes.
Zverev, a two-time Madrid champ, delivered 35 winners in a 6-2, 7-5 victory over Belgium’s rising Alexander Blockx.
He is aiming to become the fourth men’s player to win three or more Madrid titles. The others are legends Rafael Nadal (five), Roger Federer (three) and Novak Djokovic (three).
“I am very happy to be in the final,” Zverev said. “There were a lot of tough battles, especially at the start of the tournament. I am looking forward to playing Jannik again and looking forward to a tough match. The better player will win on Sunday.”
Sinner has defeated Zverev eight consecutive times, including three semifinal wins in 2026 at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo.
“He is quite a relaxed guy and he is enjoying tennis right now,” Zverev said of Sinner. “I think tennis is very easy for him right now, the way he is playing. Maybe on Sunday I will make it a bit more difficult for him. … The last eight times I didn’t win much.
“He is the best player in the world for sure and I will try to give him a tough battle.”
Sinner’s victory over Fils was the 350th of his career. The 24-year-old is the first man born in the 2000s or later to reach the milestone.
He hit 17 winners and won 87.5% (21 of 24) of his first-serve points while taking down Fils.
“I tried to be very aggressive,” Sinner said. “I felt very comfortable on the return. In the second set, he started to serve better, so it was more difficult.”
Fils had just 10 winners and committed 24 unforced errors.
Zverev won 85% (34 of 40) of his first-serve points against Blockx. The German committed just 15 unforced errors.
Both players had six aces. Blockx, 21, saved 11 of 14 break-point opportunities.
–Field Level Media
