Sinner Goes The Distance To Win Madrid Opener, Winning Streak Now 18

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (photo: Diego Souto/MMO)

MADRID/WASHINGTON, April 24, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner arrived at the Mutua Madrid Open this week riding high and steady with a 17-match winning streak and with a goal of becoming the first player to win five consecutive ATP Masters 1000 events in series history, which dates back to 1990 – long before the 24-year-old Italian was born.

After consecutively winning the Rolex Paris Masters last year, Sinner has begun 2026 by winning ATP Masters 1000 trophies at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo. 

Sinner could also complete the set of semifinals and finals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events with Madrid being his last missing piece. Everywhere the South Tyrolean has appeared, Caja Magica has been abuzz.

On Friday, Sinner finally took to Manolo Santana Stadium, the largest show court with 12,500 seats, to play his opening-round match following a first-round bye. His opponent, 106th-ranked French qualifier Benjamin Bonzi, had never beaten him in three career head-to-head meetings, including once on clay at Roland-Garros in 2020, when Sinner won in straight sets.

Although Bonzi won the opening set tie-break, he never came closer. Sinner righted himself well in the second and third sets and breezed to a 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-4 victory in two hours and 20 minutes to advance to the third round against 169th-ranked Danish qualifier Elmer Moller. Sinner has never advanced past the quarterfinals in Madrid.

From the second set forward, Sinner raised the level of his game and won his 18th straight match by hitting 38 winners to 27 unforced errors, faced no break points on his serve, and converted three of 13 break points. He outpointed Bonzi 100-77.

Since losing to Dusan Lajovic at Cincinnati in 2023, Sinner has won 36 consecutive opening-round matches.

“I struggled quite a lot, but I knew this before the match that it is a very unique court and conditions,” Sinner said during his on-court interview. “But I believe every day is different, so hopefully I can improve slightly for the next round. I tried to stay calm mentally and that is why I won today. I have some time tomorrow and will try to use it in a positive way.”

Prizmic ends Shelton winning streak on clay

World No. 6 and fourth seed Ben Shelton of the United States, who captured the BMW Munich Open title on Sunday and became the first American man to win a clay title above ATP 250 level since Andre Agassi at Rome 24 years ago, was in action against 87th-ranked qualifier Dino Prizmic of Croatia on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium Friday afternoon.

Shelton was looking to extend his five-match winning streak attained in Munich last week. However, Prizmic had other thoughts. The 20-year-old Croatian went the distance and with power and athleticism as his allies, he upset Shelton, 6-4, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (5), in three hours and two minutes to win to advance to the third round of an ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time.

Prizmic fought through 10 aces and 44 winners overall by Shelton to compile 31 winners of his own. He benefited from 44 unforced errors by the American No. 1 and faced no break points on his serve. Points were even at 113 each.

“It means a lot,” Prizmic said during his on-court interview, after improving to 7-5 this season in tour-level competition. “Today was a very hard match for me and I just tried to play my game, stay focused every point and it definitely worked today. I’m working a lot with my team to stay calm on the important points, but he [Shelton] is No. 6 in the world. … I was waiting for my chances, and I took them in the end.”

Next, Prizmic will face No. 25 seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, who defeated No. 83 Sebastian Ofner of Austria, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and 18 minutes on Court 4.

Around the Caja Magica

• World No. 87 and fifth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia was upended by 42nd-ranked Spanish wild card Rafael Jodar, 6-3, 6-1, in 75 inures on Manolo Santana Stadium Friday evening. It was the 19-year-old Jodar’s first Top-10 victory on the ATP Tour. He struck 15 winners, converted six of 13 break points, took advantage of 26 unforced errors by de Minaur and outpointed him 64-44.

On Sunday, Jodar will face fellow 19-year-old and 27th seed Joao Fonseca of Brazil, who advanced to the third round via walkover after his opponent, No. 51 Marin Cilic of Croatia, withdrew due to illness.

• No. 11 seed Jiri Lehecka of Czechia rallied to beat No. 43 Alejandro Tabilo for Chile, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4, in two hours and nine minutes on Court 4, after striking 16 aces and hitting 43 winners. Next, Lehecka will face No. 33 seed Alex Michelsen of the United States, who needed just 57 minutes to defeat No. 81 Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany, 6-2, 6-1.

• No. 14 seed Valentin Vacherot of Monaco was the first seeded player to lose in Madrid. He was upset by No. 116 Emilio Nava of the United States, who rallied to win 6-7 (5), 7-6 (1), 6—3, in two hours and 59 minutes. Nava struck 21 aces and hit 60 winners overall. He outpointed Vacherot 129-125 to advance to the third round against No. 21 seed Arthur Fils of France.

• No. 19 seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain fought past No. 41 Tomas Machac of Czechia, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5), in two hours and 54 minutes, saving 11 of 12 break points and outpointing his opponent 120-118. Next, Norrie will play No. 75 Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina, who upset No. 15 seed Tommy Paul of the United States, 7-5, 6-4, in one hour and 42 minutes on Arantxa Sanchez Stadium, saving both break points he faced and outpointing the American No. 3 77-62.

• No. 22 seed Arthur Rinderknech of France eased past 138th-ranked Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic, 6-3, 6-2, behind 10 aces and three breaks of his opponent’s serve. Next, he will face No. 66 Vit Kopriva of Czechia, who upset No. 9 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 14 minutes, outpointing the 2024 champion 65-49.

• No. 32 seed Gabriel Diallo of Canada retired from his match against 169th-ranked Danish qualifier Elmer Moller, trailing 7-5, 3-3 after one hour and 32 minutes on Court 7. Next, Moller will face top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy.

Friday’s Madrid Open results

Saturday’s Madrid Open order of play

By the numbers

No. 21 seed Arthur Fils of France began his journey to join Rafael Nadal (2013, 2017) and Carlos Alcaraz (2022-23) as the only players to win Barcelona and Madrid in the same season since this event moved to clay in 2009. He rallied to defeat No. 58 Ignacio Buse of Peru in his opening-match, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (3), 7-5, in two hours and 50 minutes on Stadium 3 to gain his first win at this event.

Fils hit 35 winners to 33 unforced errors, saved six of eight break points, converted three of seven break-point opportunities and outpointed Buse 115-111.

“Quotable …”

“Hubi is such a nice guy but also a really tough opponent, especially with these conditions. Today, I think I showed a great performance. The last couple of months have not been easy for me. So, I’m really happy and proud of this performance.

“Right now, I am feeling really happy to be healthy again and to be lucky to compete in good shape. After winning today, I feel more secure and confident about my game and about myself.”

– World No. 9 and sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, during a sit-down interview with Tennis Channel after ending a four-match losing streak at ATP Masters 1000 level. On Friday, Musetti (10-5 in 2026, 7-4 lifetime in Madrid) set up a third-round match-up with No. 29 seed Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands after defeating No. 63 Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, 6-4, 7-6 (4), in one hour and 50 minutes, hitting 19 winners and saving eight of nine break points. Griekspoor advanced over No. 84 Dzumhur, 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 27 minutes.

 

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