Sinner earns 350th career win to reach Madrid Open final against Zverev

MADRID (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner extended his winning streak to 22 matches by beating Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 and reached his first Madrid Open final on Friday.

Sinner will face No. 3 Alexander Zverev in a fifth consecutive Masters 1000 tournament after the German dominated unheralded Belgian Alexander Blockx 6-2, 7-5 in their semifinal.

Sinner’s historic attempt to become the first man to win five consecutive Masters 1000s is on the back of beating Zverev in recent semifinals in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo without dropping a set.

“I am looking forward to playing Jannik again and looking forward to a tough match,” Zverev said. “The better player will win on Sunday.”

Zverev will be encouraged that he’s in familiar territory; it’s his fourth final in Madrid, where he’s won twice.

Sinner’s 350th career victory makes him the first man born in the 2000s to reach that milestone.

“I’m very happy about the general performance today. I’m trying to play the best possible tennis. Today was a very good day in the office,” Sinner said in an on-court interview after not facing a break point in the semifinal.

Sinner also joined an elite list with Friday’s win: He’s the fourth and youngest man to reach the final at all nine Masters 1000s after Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

In the women’s final, Mirra Andreeva will face Marta Kostyuk on Saturday.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

The Associated Press