Sinner dominates Rublev and flies to the semifinals in Rome
One-sided match: beat the Russian tennis player with a score of 6-2 6-4 in one hour and thirty minutes of play
by Carlo Festa
Jannik Sinner won for the second year in a row access to the semifinals of the Internazionali d'Italia. On the Foro Italico Central, the ATP number one overcame Andrey Rublev, the number 12 seed, with the score of 6-2 6-4 in one hour and thirty minutes of play.
It was a high-profile performance for the Italian, who was extremely solid both on the service turn and in the handling of the groundstrokes. With this success Sinner signs the 32nd consecutive victory in Masters 1000 tournaments, improving the previous record held by Novak Djokovic. The record of consecutive victories in 2026 also rises to 27: the last defeat was at the Doha tournament last February. In the semi-finals, the South Tyrolean tennis player will face the winner of the match between Russia's Daniil Medvedev and Spain's Martín Landaluce.
The match was essentially one-sided. Rublev tried to increase intensity and aggressiveness to take time away from the Italian, but Sinner steered the match right from the start. He immediately got the break thanks to a highly accurate forehand cross-court and then consolidated the lead with a serve managed without conceding any heavy points to his opponent.
In the third game of the first set Rublev tried to stay connected to the match, showing more incisiveness in response and getting two break points. However, the Russian failed to convert the chances, paying poor continuity and some errors in the decisive moments. From that moment on, Sinner took full control of the exchanges, imposing rhythm and depth from the back of the court. In fact, the second break came in a game characterised by several free errors by the Russian, allowing the South Tyrolean to extend the lead to 5-2 before filing the first break 6-2.
In the second set the tactical script did not change. Rublev tried to take a more offensive position, trying to accelerate especially with his forehand, but the high number of unforced errors continued to limit his effectiveness. Sinner, on the other hand, maintains a high quality of serve and defence, gaining two breaks of advantage and handling the moments of greatest pressure with lucidity. Despite an empty passage that allowed Rublev to recover one of the breaks, the world number one never gave the feeling of losing technical and mental control of the match, closing the match on 6-4.
