Match Report
Sinner’s morning mood! World No. 1 sinks Norrie for Madrid QF spot
Italian will face Jodar or Kopriva next, in-form Fils advances to face Lehecka
April 28, 2026
Mutua Madrid Open
Jannik Sinner in action against Cameron Norrie on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrid Open.
By Andy West
Jannik Sinner brought a business-like demeanour to court early on Tuesday at the Mutua Madrid Open. The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings kick-started Day 7 at the ATP Masters 1000 event with a largely commanding fourth-round triumph against Cameron Norrie.
Sinner and Norrie stepped onto Manolo Santana Stadium shortly after 11 a.m. local time in the Spanish capital and the Italian needed 87 minutes from there to prevail 6-2, 7-5 in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head clash. With his triumph, the 24-year-old Sinner earned his 20th consecutive tour-level win, while he is now on a 25-match winning streak at Masters 1000 level.
20-match winning streak ⭐️ @janniksin overcomes Norrie to reach his 22nd ATP Masters 1000 QF @MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/79t8oCwBTE
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 28, 2026
“Quite unusual for me,” Sinner said, when asked about any changes in his routine to prepare for the morning start. “I don’t know the last time I played at 11, but for me it doesn’t matter what time. I try to do my best… We try to adapt ourselves, our bodies and our minds. From my side, it was a good performance today.”
Sinner will now prepare for a quarter-final clash against fast-rising #NextGenATP hometown star Rafael Jodar or Vit Kopriva in Madrid. Having triumphed in Paris last November and in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo this year, he is bidding to become the first player to win five consecutive Masters 1000 crowns.
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Even by his own high standards, Sinner appeared intensely focused throughout the first three-quarters of the match against Norrie, particularly in a first set in which he did not face a break point according to Infosys ATP Stats. The only drop in the Italian’s level came when he was a break up at 3-2 in the second set: He delivered an uncharacteristically sloppy service game to help Norrie break to love and regain a foothold in the match.
Having worked his way back into contention, however, Britain’s Norrie soon undermined his good work when serving at 5-5. He produced a double fault at 15/30 and, although he saved two break points from there, he was unable to deny Sinner on a third. The Italian subsequently served out the match to become the second man in history to win his first 20 Masters 1000 matches of the season, after Novak Djokovic in 2011 and 2015.
“We know each other quite well. We practised a lot together in the past tournaments also, so we both kind of knew what to expect,” Sinner said on facing Norrie for the first time. “I felt like I was serving quite well today in the important moments.
“This surface, it’s very different to all the other surfaces, so it’s quite tough to get the right feedback. So sometimes you feel like you are not playing your best, but from the outside it seems that you are, and sometimes it is also the opposite. But I’m very happy to be here in the quarters again.”
Another man building an impressive winning streak, Arthur Fils, also advanced to the quarter-finals early on Tuesday. The Frenchman, who lifted his first ATP Tour title since 2024 last week at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell, downed Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 6-4 for his eighth consecutive match win.
Fils will take on Jiri Lehecka in the last eight, after the 11th seed eased past sixth seed Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-3. The 21-year-old Fils, who did not compete for eight months in 2025 because of a back injury, is now 21-5 for the season and has risen seven spots to No. 18 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings as a result of his Madrid run so far.