Jannik Sinner ended the inspired run of teen home favourite Rafael Jodar with a 6-2, 7-6 (7/0) victory at the Madrid Open on Wednesday to complete his set of semifinals reached at all nine Masters 1000 tournaments.
The 19-year-old Jodar has taken the tour by storm this clay season, winning a maiden ATP title in Marrakesh, and making the semifinals in Barcelona and the quarterfinals in Madrid before he was stopped by the world No 1 at the Caja Magica.
This time last year, Jodar was playing college tennis for the University of Virginia and was ranked 687 in the world. He will crack the top 35 when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Sinner was seriously tested before he extended his current winning streak to 21 consecutive matches.
The stats don't lie 😮💨@janniksin extends his winning streak at Masters 1000 level to 26!@MutuaMadridOpen | #MMOPEN pic.twitter.com/n7rMDpoN3g
— ATP Tour (@atptour) April 29, 2026
The world No 1 will face Jiri Lehecka or Arthur Fils in Friday's semifinal.
The first-set scoreline may have read 6-2 but it was far from a routine affair for Sinner, who found himself facing a young opponent who could match his firepower, particularly on the forehand wing.
The Italian was tested in multiple service games, including a marathon one at 2-2, and had to save a pair of break points before he took a one-set lead in 44 minutes.
Leaning on the rowdy home support that included several Real Madrid stars, past and present, Jodar skirted danger at the start of the second set and put pressure on the Sinner serve.
But despite his best efforts, Jodar couldn't convert any of the five break points he created as Sinner levelled for 4-4.
The set fittingly went to a tiebreak, which was dominated by Sinner, who won the last 11 points of the match to advance to his first Madrid semifinal.