Sinner ends Jodar’s dream run to reach Madrid Semifinal

Jannik Sinner defeated Rafa Jodar 6-2, 7-6(0) in Madrid to reach the semifinals of the tournament for the first time.

Sinner has now won 26 straight matches at the Masters 1000 level and 21 matches in a row overall. He has also won 52 of his last 54 sets in Masters events.

With this result, Sinner becomes just the sixth player in history to reach the semifinals or better at all nine Masters 1000 tournaments, joining Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Alexander Zverev.

After the match, Sinner praised his opponent:

“He pushed me to the limit. He’s an incredible player. I tried to be ready as much as I could. First time playing against him… I’m incredibly happy. It’s been a high quality match. I got lucky a bit in the 2nd set but also a little bit of experience. I’m very happy to be in the semis here for the first time. It means a lot to me.”

He also spoke about the challenge of reaching this milestone:

“Reaching semis in every tournament is tough. I try to improve on every surface… I’m happy. Now we see what’s coming.”

On managing fatigue during a busy schedule, Sinner added:

“I played a lot in the last months… there weren’t many days off. But I try to push myself to the limit… At the end of the day on the court I’m alone. I have a great team behind me… I try to handle it in a very positive way and keep pushing.”

Despite the loss, Jodar received a standing ovation from the crowd after an impressive run. Sinner also had strong words about the young Spaniard:

“He’s a very, very good kid. He has a great family behind him… what he’s doing is incredible. I wish him only the best… but don’t push him too much. He has everything needed to achieve great results.”

At just 19 years old, Jodar’s performance in Madrid showed his potential on one of the biggest stages.