ROME (AP) 鈥� is two victories away from becoming the first home man to win the in half a century. And it doesn鈥檛 seem like anybody can stop him 鈥� either in Rome or at the French Open that starts in 10 days.
The top-ranked Sinner landed shots on the lines repeatedly in a 6-2, 6-4 triumph over No. 14 Andrey Rublev to reach the semifinals Thursday and move past with a record 32nd consecutive victory in Masters 1000 events 鈥� the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 play for records. I play just for my own story. And obviously at the same time it means a lot to me,鈥� Sinner said.
The last Italian man to raise the singles trophy on the red clay of the Foro Italico was Adriano Panatta in 1976. Panatta will present the title to this year鈥檚 champion on Sunday, with Italy President Sergio Mattarella also slated to attend the final.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a special tournament for me,鈥� Sinner said.
With nearly everyone inside the 10,500-seat Campo Centrale cheering for Sinner, many supporters wore hats and T-shirts in orange 鈥� his theme color.
One group of fans held up a sign that said, 鈥淪inner, Facce Sogna鈥� 鈥� 鈥淪inner, Make us dream.鈥�
He lost last year鈥檚 final in Rome to Carlos Alcaraz, who is now due to a right wrist injury, while in 2025 became the first Italian woman to raise the trophy in 40 years.
Sinner broke serve in the opening game for a third straight match and never lost control against Rublev, who was once ranked as high as No. 5.
Rublev noticed there were 鈥渕any points where he played really well or close to the line or in a line. But he鈥檚 No. 1 and it鈥檚 normal. You need to force him to miss and it takes a lot of focus to be able to play at that level.鈥�
Sinner had only one brief lapse when Rublev broke him late in the second set.
鈥淚t was a bit breezy, a bit windy, so it was very tough conditions,鈥� Sinner said. 鈥淚 felt we both didn鈥檛 play at our best today.鈥�
Sinner said he felt fatigued toward the end.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to be all right. It鈥檚 normal that one day in the tournament you are slightly tired,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t has been very long days for me.鈥�
Sinner hasn鈥檛 been beaten in a Masters event since he retired with cramps in extreme heat against Tallon Griekspoor in Shanghai in October.
Djokovic won 31 straight Masters matches in 2011.
Including all tournaments, Sinner鈥檚 winning streak reached 27 matches. He was last beaten by Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open quarterfinals on Feb. 19 鈥� and he hasn’t even dropped a set since his opening match of his previous tournament, the Madrid Open.
Sinner is also aiming to become the second man after Djokovic to triumph at all nine Masters events. Djokovic has won each event at least twice.
The Italian Open is the only Masters event that Sinner hasn鈥檛 won.
His semifinal opponent will be 2023 Rome champion Daniil Medvedev or Spanish qualifier Martina Landaluce, who were playing later.
The other semifinal will feature Casper Ruud of Norway against , an Argentine-born Italian.
Coco Gauff back in final
In the women鈥檚 tournament, beat 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3 to reach the final for a second straight year.
Gauff saved a match point in a three-set victory over Iva Jovic in the fourth round and then came back from a set down to defeat Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals.
Against Cirstea, Gauff got 78% of her first serves in and had only one double fault.
鈥淚’m just happy to be through in straight sets today,” Gauff said. “It’s been a marathon week.鈥�
Gauff was beaten by Paolini in the 2025 Rome final, then went on to .
In Saturday’s final, Gauff will face three-time Rome champion Iga Swiatek or two-time winner Elina Svitolina, who were playing later.
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