World No.1 Jannik Sinner bested Casper Ruud to win the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome on Sunday and became the first Italian champion at the ATP Masters 1000 event since Adriano Panatta in 1976. With this win, Sinner completed the set of winning all nine Masters 1000 events and became the second player, after Novak Djokovic, to achieve this feat.
The Italian registered a comprehensive 6-4, 6-4 win against the Norwegian to write his name in the history books. Sinner has won all five Masters 1000 titles in the ongoing season, winning in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, and Madrid.
To win in Rome in front of his home crowd and bag all these records was like a cherry on top of the cake for Sinner.
“There’s no better place to complete this set,” Sinner shared. “It has been a very, very interesting tournament already back in the years. In 2019, [I made my] debut here on this court. I always felt very positive, but in a different way, a lot of attention, a lot of emotions going through. It means a lot.
“I believe for an Italian, it’s one of the most special places we play tennis in. To win at least once in my career means a lot to me.”
Sinner’s serve was broken early by Ruud in the opening set and the Italian admitted there were butterflies in his stomach.
“There was definitely a lot of tension, a lot of tough moments I had to go through, especially mentally,” Sinner said. “Not starting the match in a perfect way, but tried to stay as calm as possible mentally. I’m very happy about this achievement. I know what I played for today, so I’m really happy.”
The Italian said he will take rest and spend time with his family before flying to Paris for the all-important Roland Garros.
“The priority is to recover as much as I can in the next two to three days,” Sinner shared. “There is not going to be a lot of training, Tennis, zero. Physical, [my team and I] need to see.
“I want to be with my family as well, in this moment. Switching off tennis, then from Thursday onwards, I think I will be in Paris, preparing, and we’ll see how it goes. For now, it’s important to rest.”
The French Open would begin on May 31.
