Jannik Sinner is through to the semi-final of the Italian Open, following a dominant victory over Casper Ruud 6-0, 6-1.
Sinner cruised through the first set, wrapping up a bagel in just 27 minutes, and despite Ruud managing to clinch a sole game in the second set, the Italian ultimately sealed the win comfortably.
Ruud had enjoyed a hot run of form in recent weeks, having won a maiden Masters 1000 title at the Madrid Open, but couldn’t find any answers for the three-time Grand Slam champion.
The world number one is yet to drop a set at this year’s Italian Open and has now extended his win streak to 22 matches, with his last loss coming at the China Open in October, where Sinner lost to Alcaraz in the final.
Sinner, who is bidding to become the second Italian in the Open Era to win the Rome title, spoke on his victory over the Norwegian in front of a joyous home crowd.
Photo by ANDREAS SOLARO/AFP via Getty ImagesJannik Sinner says playing Casper Ruud at night gave him an advantage
Speaking after the match, Sinner said: “Every one of us has one or two opponents where we struggle a bit more, and I tried to replicate what I have done in the past today on a different surface.”
“I was hitting the ball very well, and in these conditions, playing against Casper at night is a little better in my point of view because he cannot make the ball bounce as much.”
“Everything went in my favour today, some net chords and lines. But the match can change very quickly.”
“At 2-1, if he holds that serve, if I don’t serve well there, we are back even again, and it could have been a game changer, but I am happy with how I handled that situation.”
Jannik Sinner’s dominant quarter-final performance by the numbers
Sinner dominated on both his serve and return, winning a total of 55 points, stacking up to Ruud’s 22.
He had a 78% win percentage on his first serve and tallied 70% on his second serve.
The 23-year-old won 30 receiving points and took six of the eight possible break points he had. Ruud failed to reach a break point throughout the match.
Sinner won eight straight games from the start of the match and strung together a maximum of eight points in a row.
Finishing the contest in just 64 minutes, Sinner’s statement victory over Ruud is the quickest since his return to tennis.
He’ll now face Tommy Paul in the semi-final of the Italian Open, whom he has only played once on clay before.
Sinner’s sole victory against Paul on the dirt came at the Madrid Open in 2022, where he bettered the American over three sets.