"I don’t know when the last time I played at 11 was" - Jannik Sinner overcomes early start in fine fashion as Masters 1000 win streak continues

Jannik Sinner is into a fifth consecutive Masters 1000 quarterfinal. He picked up his 20th win at this level in 2026 against British number one Cameron Norrie 6-2, 7-5 whilst improving his Masters 1000 win streak to 25 to confirm a spot in the last-eight of the Madrid Open.

In a tournament that he has not won, Sinner is looking to close in on more glory in 2026. He has already taken down Benjamin Bonzi and Elmer Moller to reach the last-16 in the Spanish capital for just the second time. It would be a first matchup against Norrie, and in turn a first win against the former world number eight.

Norrie got out of the blocks in lightning speed, holding to love. That would be the last joy he got for a while with a rampant Sinner on the other court starting to get going. Whilst not at his best and a bit sloppy at times, he proved to be good enough to win five games in a row to sail into a 5-1 lead. Norrie ended the drought but too little too late as Sinner took the first set.

The match looked dead and buried for Norrie with the four-time Grand Slam champion picking up what seemed to be a definitive break of serve. However, a blip in the Sinner service game allowed Norrie to break to love and get affairs level at 3-3.

Sinner bided his time and eventually got that all important break to go 6-5 to the good. He served it out with not qualm to continue his impeccable form.

After the match, Sinner shared his thoughts on the win, noting that it was his first match against a player he has practiced with regularly. “We know each other quite well," he began. "We practiced a lot in the last tournaments also. We both kind of knew what to expect. I felt like I was serving quite well in important moments."

He has been vocal about the surface of the Madrid courts, having to get used to them with them being vastly different to other clay courts. "This surface is very very different than all the other surfaces," he admitted. "It’s very tough to get the right feedback. Sometimes you feel like you’re not playing your best but from the outside it seems like you are. Sometimes it’s also the opposite. I’m very happy to be here in the quarters again. It’s a tournament I haven’t played a lot. So it means a lot to me. I’m happy to be through in 2 sets.”

It was an unusually early start for Sinner, not scheduled in the prime time of later in the day. He was the first on court, and first off it. Not a feeling that he is used to. “Yeah quite unusual for me. I don’t know when the last time I played at 11 was. For me it doesn’t matter what time. I try to do my best."

The 24-year-old will come up against either Vit Kopriva or Spanish talent Rafael Jodar. Sinner spoke on the scheduling for him and Jodar with late finishes playing a factor.

"For me there was a question if me or Jodar plays at 4. I think it’s right that he plays at 4. He finished very very late. At the same time I think we need to make some adjustments with scheduling out of the day. 2 matches from 8 is very late. Even though you have one day in between, but still it’s very very late. You finish at 1:30. You need to eat. You need to have treatment. It’s very late. But we try to adapt ourself, our bodies, and minds. From my side it was a good performance today.”