MADRID/WASHINGTON, May 3, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
When Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev walk out on Manolo Santana Stadium Sunday afternoon to contest the men’s singles final of the 24th edition of the Mutua Madrid Open, an ATP Masters 1000 event, both will be chasing significant milestones.
For Zverev, 29, there’s the subject of eight consecutive losses to the World No. 1 from Italy – many of them at ATP Masters 1000 level after winning four of their first five meetings – and a win for the German would mean his third Madrid title. He’s playing in his fourth Madrid Open final, which puts him the same company as Rafael Nadal (8) and Roger Federer (5).
For the 24-year-old Sinner, there’s the subject of winning a fifth-consecutive ATP Masters 1000 title. His winning streak at the 1000 level is 27 straight – a streak that begin at the Rolex Paris Masters last October. Sinner will bring a 22-match winning streak from the current season – covering all levels of play – into Sunday’s championship final and he’s going after his fourth straight ATP Masters 1000 title this season.
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Now, Sinner is just two wins away from matching Federer for the third-longest ATP Masters 1000 winning streak. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic holds the all-time record with streaks of 30 and 31.
Since dropping the opening set of his first match against Benjamin Bonzi of France, Sinner has won 10 consecutive sets, which has rewarded him with five victories. En route, Sinner has beaten qualifiers Bonzi and Elmer Moller of Denmark, No. 19 seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, Spanish wild card Rafael Jodar, and No. 21 seed Arthur Fils of France.
Meanwhile, Zverev has arrived at the title match after scoring five victories of his own over the likes of Mariano Navone of Argentina, Terence Atmane of France, No. 23 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia, No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy and Alexander Blockx of Belgium.
Of note, Sinner has only lost three sets to Zverev during his eight-match winning streak against the German No. 1 – and none in their past five meetings. In fact, the five most recent wins by Sinner over Zverev have all come in the semifinals of all four ATP Masters 1000 events this season plus the group stage of last year’s Nitto ATP Finals.
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“He’s World No. 1 and hasn’t lost a match since the beginning of February,” Zverev said of Sinner during his post-match news conference, after he beat Blockx, 6-2, 7-5, in the semifinal round Friday evening. “I think right now he’s definitely the best player in the world. I think I have to play very, very good tennis to have a chance. But I know I’m capable of doing that, and I will try to do my best on Sunday.”
Zverev was asked during his on-court interview after his semifinal victory if he thought there would be more pressure on Sinner this time. He said: “I don’t know. I don’t think so because if you’re World No. 1 you have pressure every single week. I think he’s used to it. He’s quite a relaxed guy about it. I think he’s just enjoying tennis right now. I think tennis is very, very easy for him right now, the way he’s playing. Maybe on Sunday, I’ll manage to make it a bit more difficult for him.”
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Meanwhile, after Sinner defeated Fils, 6-2, 6-4, in his semifinal Friday afternoon, he was asked during his post-match news conference to describe what it’s like to face big moments in big matches. He said: “I like to play with the gut feeling. And that’s what I feel at that moment, and I just try to go for it, honestly. There is no real key. I think I would rather go for it and miss a ball than waiting for the opponent to miss. I’ve always been like this. Obviously, not every time you can play like this, it’s also depending how you feel. Yeah, this is just how I see it.”
The subject of playing in another ATP Masters 1000 final was asked of Sinner during his news conference. Here’s how he sees it:
“I don’t think too much about the final ahead. I’m of course very happy to play first final here. It means a lot to me. It has been an amazing tournament again. But whatever comes out Sunday, in any case it has been a great tournament again.”
