Jannik Sinner continued his rise in the men’s game by completing the career Golden Masters after winning the Italian Open in Rome on Sunday.
The 24-year-old beat Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-4 in the final to secure the ninth ATP Masters 1000 title, becoming only the second man after Novak Djokovic to achieve the full set.
Sinner also extended his Masters dominance to six consecutive titles, underlining his consistency at the top of the tour.
The final followed a familiar pattern as Sinner recovered from an early break, used variation to disrupt Ruud’s rhythm, and controlled the second set to close out the match in front of his home crowd.
“I’m really, really happy, it’s been an incredible last two and a half months,” said Sinner, who has also won the Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid Masters titles this season.
“There has been a lot of tension, especially here in the final. But it’s a learning process. I can’t know everything at 24 years old.”
Sinner’s achievement has come at speed. He claimed his first Masters title at the 2023 Canadian Open and has now completed the set earlier than Djokovic, who was 31 when he first achieved the milestone in 2018 before repeating it in 2020.
“With the level of competition, the physical and mental demands, changing surfaces, travelling the world, winning all these matches is incredible,” Britain’s former world number four Tim Henman said on Sky Sports.
“It emphasises how complete a player Sinner is.”
Attention now turns to Roland Garros, where Sinner will attempt to add another major title and continue his push towards the career Grand Slam.
Despite already winning four Grand Slam titles, including two Australian Opens, Wimbledon and the US Open, the Italian remains focused on further progress.
Completing the Golden Masters early in his career raises the question of how much more he can achieve, with the French Open starting next week offering another opportunity.
A victory in Paris would make him only the 10th man to complete the career Grand Slam.
With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined and several top-10 players struggling for form, Sinner goes into Roland Garros as the leading contender.
However, the demands of a Grand Slam remain a test of endurance and focus across two weeks.
If Sinner wins the Coupe des Mousquetaires on 7 June, he will be one step away from completing all the major individual honours in tennis, with only an Olympic gold medal left to secure.
