By ANDREW DAMPF AP Sports Writer
ROME (AP) — The records keep coming for Jannik Sinner.
The top-ranked Sinner beat qualifier Andrea Pellegrino 6-2, 6-3 to reach the Italian Open quarterfinals on Tuesday and match Novak Djokovic’s record with a 31st consecutive Masters Series victory.
Sinner hasn’t been beaten in a Masters Series event — the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams — since he retired with cramps in extreme heat against Tallon Griekspoor in Shanghai in October.
Djokovic won 31 straight Masters matches in 2011.
“If you want to be a great player you’ve got to play on all the surfaces and all the tournaments at your maximum,” Sinner said. “It’s the mind that makes the difference.”
Like in his previous match, Sinner took control quickly with a break in the opening game before a packed Campo Centrale — where many fans were decked out in orange, which is Sinner’s theme color. He improved to 19-0 against fellow Italians.
If Sinner raises the trophy in Rome, he’ll become the second man after Djokovic to triumph at all nine Masters 1000 events. Djokovic has won each event at least twice.
Sinner has already won a record five straight Masters events and with Carlos Alcaraz sidelined due to a right wrist injury, it doesn’t seem like anyone can prevent him from winning in Rome and at the upcoming French Open.
“It’s time to take the title away from Adriano,” read a sign that one fan held aloft at the Foro Italico, referring to the last Italian man to win the singles title in Rome: Adriano Panatta 50 years ago.
Panatta will present the winner’s trophy after Sunday’s title match.
Overall, Sinner extended his winning streak to 26 matches. He hasn’t lost since getting beat by Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open quarterfinals on Feb. 19.
Sinner’s quarterfinal opponent will be 12th-seeded Andrey Rublev, who beat Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2.
Also, 19-year-old Rafael Jodar swept aside Learner Tien 6-1, 6-4 to become only the second teenager after Rafael Nadal (in 2005) to reach the Madrid and Rome quarterfinals in the same season.
Jodar will next face Luciano Darderi, who saved four match points in the second set of a 1-6, 7-6 (10), 6-0 victory over two-time Rome champion Alexander Zverev,
Casper Ruud eased past Lorenzo Musetti 6-3, 6-1 with Musetti getting treatment for a left thigh issue.
Ruud will face Karen Khachanov, who beat Dino Prizmic 6-1, 7-6 (2). Prizmic eliminated Novak Djokovic on Friday.
Coco Gauff reaches the semifinals again
In the women’s tournament, Coco Gauff reached the Rome semifinals for the third consecutive year with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Mirra Andreeva.
Gauff was the runner-up in Rome last year and is preparing to defend her French Open title.
Gauff will next play 36-year-old Sorana Cirstea, who eliminated 2017 French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 6-1, 7-6 (0).
Cirstea upset top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka in the third round and is now the second-oldest semifinalist in a WTA 1000 clay-court event. Only Martina Navratilova did it at an older age, at 37 in Rome in 1994.
“I always said there’s no expiration date for ambition and dreams,” said Cirstea, who plans to retire at the end of the year. “I think everyone can see that I absolutely love this sport. I have so much passion for it.”
Defending champion Jasmine Paolini, who lost in the third round of singles, withdrew from the doubles competition due to a “minor foot issue.” She and partner Sara Errani are the defending champions in doubles, too.
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis