World No.1 Jannik Sinner (24) cruised into the fourth round of the Rome Masters 1000 on Monday, demolishing Australia’s Alexei Popyrin (26) 6-2, 6-0 in just over an hour.
The top seed extended his winning streak to 25 matches overall and 30 consecutive victories in Masters 1000 events — the second-longest run in the category behind only the Grand Slams. Sinner, who has won the last five Masters 1000 tournaments (Paris 2025, Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, and Monte Carlo this year), now faces qualifier Andrea Pellegrino, ranked 155th and one of the tournament’s surprise packages. Pellegrino, also Italian, earlier defeated Frances Tiafoe 7-6(10-8), 6-1.
Born in South Tyrol, a German-speaking region of northeastern Italy, Sinner could become the first Italian man to win the Foro Italico title since Adriano Panatta in 1976. He also has the chance to become only the second player in ATP history to claim all nine Masters 1000 titles, after Novak Djokovic.