The question about crowd handling was the logical outcome of the events that had just occurred on Manolo Santana Stadium. Jannik Sinner had sent Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 in 87 minutes; the Frenchman’s nine-match winning streak ended with such calm mastery that it hardly seemed like a semifinal. In 2026, Fils came on clay, unbeaten and full of confidence, having just won Barcelona, and was equipped with a coach in Goran Ivanisevic, who added a new dimension to his game. For one set, the crowd was invested. By the second, they had hopes with Fils winning four games, but was watching something that felt inevitable. 

During the post-match press conference, when the crowd was still ringing in the background, Sinner was questioned about how he copes with the crowd at the Caja Mágica, where the partisan Spanish crowd and the altitude-charged atmosphere result in one of the most hostile environments on the entire calendar.

There was some implicit allusion in the question: Novak Djokovic who has over twenty years created the most advanced relationship that any player to ever play the game has developed with crowd pressure. His power to absorb enmity and turn it around and utilize it as competitive fuel was among the factors that made him barely beatable during the most high-stakes moments. Would Sinner attempt the same? The response was prompt and typically straightforward. 

“I think everyone is different. Novak handled it very, very well, of course I think the best. But for me, I don’t have a technique. For me, honestly, I’m just happy to be part of a match,” Sinner said.

It is a significant difference. Djokovic never left crowd management passive and unintentional – it was a learned skill, which took years of playing in arenas where the entire stadium was staring at him. Sinner is 24, who has a different kind of psychological architecture, and he doesn’t feel following Djokovic’s path is necessary. 

His interpretation of the dynamics of crowds is also generously given. He comes up with a new meaning of noise that is not hostility. 

“People come to see good tennis, and sometimes people, they’re not against you — they just want to see a little bit more tennis. So I also understand them. I try to stay calm in pressure moments and very tough moments. This is just how I am.”

The audience at Madrid, especially, has been warmer toward Sinner than the story of a foreign player at a Spanish event might suggest. He touched upon that. 

“When I played against Rafael (Jodar) here, it was a nice atmosphere. I think they are very, very fair towards me, and that’s something I really appreciate,” he said. He acknowledged the power of home support without pretending he needs to manufacture it. “When I play in Italy, it means a lot to me. I always say you have an extra shot playing with the crowd. But it doesn’t mean this is good or bad, I think everyone is different.”

Fils, on his part, was under no illusions as to what he had just been through with. The Frenchman had arrived in Madrid on the crest of nine consecutive victories and the most steady clay-court streak of his career. He attempted to find the right words for Sinner in the post-match press conference that had surprised even him. 

“He’s a great champion,” Fils said. “He hasn’t lost a match since Indian Wells. He’s playing great, a lot of confidence. He hit the ball pretty clean from both sides and he was serving very well.”

He was especially candid about the process of confronting Sinner in full intensity – something that had taken him by surprise even though he knew it would happen. “The first set was very good for him, tough for me. I had to get used to the speed of his ball. I have faced very good players, but this was different. Against Jannik, playing very good tennis is not enough,” Fils admitted. “I thought I would do what I did in the second or third round, hit a few aces, and play my serve-forehand pattern. But today, he did not allow me that.”

The statistics gave a similar account. Fils made only 49% of his first serves and only 45% of his second. He had six break points and was broken three times. He questioned himself afterwards, had he striven too hard to get easy points, and found that against the best in the world, there were no easy points. “When I’m stepping on the court against him, I feel like I play great tennis,” he said with a hint of exasperation. “But still it’s not enough.”

The defeat ruins an otherwise bright week that nonetheless builds on the reputation of Fils as one of the exciting players on the tour. He was out of action due to his back injury for eight months, but he is back to deliver a run to the Doha final, the Miami semi-finals, the Barcelona title, and a second Masters semi-final in Madrid now. There is a real gap between his level and that of Sinner, but everything around is an indication that it is a gap that will close. 

“Even with AI, I can’t find a way to beat him” Alexander Zverev’s honest Madrid final assessment

While Jannik Sinner was taking his seat at the press conference, Alexander Zverev was closing his own straight-sets victory over Alexander Blockx, securing his own spot in the final and a fifth consecutive Masters 1000 encounter between the two men. Sinner leads a 9-4 overall head-to-head and has won eight consecutive matches without losing a set to Zverev since the two faced off in Vienna in October. 

The German’s assessment of what lies ahead on Sunday was as candid as anything Fils had said, and perhaps more revealing.

“All tennis players have their strong and weak points. I believe that in the end the better always wins. Even with an AI that gives you the best possible statistical overview of him, there’s no secret to how he plays, I can’t seem to find a way to beat him,” Zverev said. “He’s world No. 1 and hasn’t lost a match since the beginning of February. Right now he’s definitely the best player in the world.”

He was equally honest about the mental dimension. “I don’t think he’ll feel extra pressure to win a fifth straight Masters 1000, because when you’re world No. 1, you feel pressure every week. I think he’s used to it. I think he’s just enjoying tennis right now. Tennis is very, very easy for him at the moment, the way he’s playing. Maybe on Sunday I’ll manage to make it a bit tougher for him.”

Zverev is, however, justified in thinking Sunday might be different. The two-time Madrid champion has a 30-6 career record at the Caja Mágica – one of the best venue-specific records throughout the entire tour. The third title in this list would see him become the fourth man to win the event three times, after Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic. And on the more rapid elevation in Madrid, where the ball travels faster, and the exchanges of baseline are reduced, his big serve and clean ball-striking have historically afforded him a superior opportunity than on most clay courts. 

“I feel like I’m playing a bit better than I was in Monte Carlo,” Zverev added, referencing his 6-1, 6-4 loss to Sinner in the principality. “I will try my absolute best. To win the biggest tournaments in the world, you’ve got to beat the best, and Jannik is the best right now.”

Nevertheless, history was made on Sunday as Sinner became the first man to claim five consecutive Masters 1000 titles, completing the feat in ruthless fashion. The world No. 1 eased to a 6-1, 6-2 championship-match triumph inside Manolo Santana Stadium, not facing a single break point throughout. The man who couldn’t find a way to stop it was Zverev and he knew it. “I think today I would have lost to anybody, to be very fair. I think today I played an awful tennis match,” Zverev said after the defeat.