History was made on the red clay of Madrid, and it did not take long. The Italian world No. 1, Jannik Sinner, stormed past Alexander Zverev in the final at Manolo Santana Stadium to become the first man to win five consecutive Masters 1000 events. He won the match in 58 minutes, as the German looked completely out of sorts and Sinner took advantage to seal the match 6-1, 6-2. 

Sinner was characteristically measured about what he had just achieved. “I started the match very well, breaking straightaway. He was not playing his best tennis today, so I just tried to go with the front foot. I’m very happy, obviously, about the level I’m playing. Incredibly winning another title like this, that means a lot to me. It’s been another incredible tournament,” he said in his on-court interview. 

This was their fourth meeting this year, and the result was the same. This was Sinner’s ninth consecutive win over the German, and he has lost only two sets in all nine encounters. The rivalry, which started with Zverev dominating the early matchups, winning four of the first five matches, has become a completely one-sided affair, with the current h2h standing at 10-4. 

The second seed admitted that he was not at his best today, and he was quite candid about it. Sinner showed complete dominance in the match, converting all four break points he earned, not facing a single break point himself, won 93% of points on his first serve, and blasted 19 winners with just five unforced errors. 

In the runner-up speech, Zverev summed up everything about where his rival stands at this moment in the world of tennis, alongside apologizing to the crowd for such a short final. 

“First of all, super sorry for the final. It was not my best day. But then, of course, congratulations to Jannik. Best player in the world by far at the moment. Really no chance for most of the people, for us at the moment against you. Also, to your team, you guys are doing an incredible job every single week. I hope one week, maybe at the French Open, have a break,” he said. 

The last line drew laughter from the Madrid crowd, but there was a fine honesty behind it. The world No. 3 has not been able to find a way to win against Sinner in the past one and a half years. This could be a very frustrating affair for a player to fall short against the same opponent in multiple finals. He revealed before the final that even with AI, he has not been able to find a way to beat Sinner, and Sunday’s encounter confirmed the assessment. 

Rome is next, which is a home tournament for the Italian. It’s the only Masters event that Sinner doesn’t have in his kitty. If he manages to win in Rome, he will complete the Career Golden Masters, which is winning all nine events on the tour. The only player to achieve this feat in the sport is Novak Djokovic, and Sinner can become the next. He can very well achieve this feat, as at this moment, he looks unstoppable. With Carlos Alcaraz’s absence for the next two events and Roland Garros being later in the month, Sinner can sweep up the clay swing and win the “Clay Slam” this season.