ROME — Italian tennis fans had waited for this moment for a half century.
For Jannik Sinner, though, it wasn’t just about becoming the first Italian man to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.
The top-ranked Sinner’s 6-4, 6-4 victory over Casper Ruud in Sunday’s final on the red clay of the Foro Italico also made him only the second man after Novak Djokovic to win all nine Masters 1000 events — the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams.
Djokovic completed the career set in 2018 in Cincinnati at age 31 — and then went on to win each event at least twice. Sinner is 24, and with his only real rival, Carlos Alcaraz, currently sidelined due to a right wrist injury, seemingly nobody can beat him.
“Welcome to the exclusive club, Jannik,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram.
Sinner extended his winning streak to 29 matches.
He hasn’t lost since getting beat by Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open quarterfinals on Feb. 19. And he’s now 17-0 on clay this year entering the French Open, which starts next Sunday.
Incredible,” Sinner said. “It’s been a long time since an Italian won – 50 years. I’m happy one of us was able to take advantage of this great period for Italian tennis.”
Sinner celebrated calmly as usual, revealing a wide smile when he landed an inside-out forehand on the line on his first championship point, then held his hands over his head in apparent relief.
Then he waved to the crowd, which included 1976 champion Panatta sitting in the front row.
“Adriano, after 50 years we’ve won back a very important trophy,” Sinner told the 75-year-old Panatta, who participated in the trophy ceremony.
Roland Garros is the only Grand Slam that Sinner hasn’t won: He has two Australian Open titles and has won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open once each.
