The thrilling duel was great entertainment for the spectators. The youngster performed strongly.
Jannik Sinner used all his class to thwart the Spanish shooting star Rafael Jódar. The world number one from Italy beat the 19-year-old 6:2, 7:6 (7:0) in the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters in Madrid, who once again demonstrated his great potential in his native city.
Watched by Real Madrid’s soccer star Jude Bellingham, Sinner ultimately came out on top and has now reached at least the semi-finals in all nine events of the ATP 1000 tournaments.
Sinner on historic course
At the same time, he is still on course to become the first professional in history to win five Masters in a row. He will have to earn his ticket to the final against Arthur Fils (France) or Jiri Lehecka (Czech Republic).
In the Caja Mágica, Jódar, who moved close to the top 30 in the world with his result in Madrid, showed that he can keep up with Sinner’s enormous pace, at least in phases. He defeated the world number eight Alex de Minaur and won the exciting duel with the Brazilian top talent Joao Fonseca – but the high-flyer from South Tyrol was still a size too big.
However, he has already put himself in position for the French Open in Paris on May 24.
