Ruthless Sinner close to perfection as he crushes Ruud to reach semi-finals in Rome
The Italian was at his brilliant best as he ripped Ruud – who won the Madrid Masters title last time out – to pieces at the Foro Italico
Inside / Psnewz
Jannik Sinner produced a masterclass in front of his home fans at the Foro Italico on Thursday as he crushed Casper Ruud 6-0, 6-1 to reach the semi-finals of the Rome Masters.
The world No 1, in his first event back after a three-month doping ban, was at his absolute best in the first set, dropping just four points in the first five games, and though Ruud saved face in the second set, he never stood a chance of getting back into the match.
“I was feeling great on the court, I think we all saw that,” said Sinner, who will now play Tommy Paul for a place in the final.
“My goal here was trying to understand where my level is. My level was raising day by day, so I’m very happy with that. Doesn’t matter about the result, but how I felt today was very positive signs for me.
“It’s not that one performance can tell everything of my shape but I’m very happy. Today everything worked very, very well.”
It’s his most biggest win by scoreline at ATP Tour level and he remains unbeaten in 2025, extending his overall winning streak to 25 matches.
Sinner perfect in opening set
Ruud went into the match in good form, having won the title in Madrid last time but Sinner led the head to head 3-0, the last of them a 6-1, 6-2 drubbing at the ATP Finals late last year. And right from the start, Sinner bullied him in every department.
Everything Sinner did was near-perfect. His serve was heavy, his movement extraordinary and his ball-striking pure, leaving Ruud not knowing what to do. The Norwegian was consistently pushed behind the baseline by the weight of the Sinner groundstrokes and he was constantly off balance, chasing shadows.
When Ruud did try to force the issue he missed and in the first five games, Sinner dropped just four games. Though Ruud pushed him to deuce in the next game, on his own serve, he couldn’t convert his only game point in the set and Sinner took the bagel.
Sinner maintains his focus
Sometimes winning a first set so easily can be problematic; there is only one way to go from there, down. But Sinner kept his foot on the accelerator, breaking in the first game, holding for 2-0 and earning himself two more break points in the third game.
To his credit, Ruud dug deep and breathed an enormous sigh of relief after finally getting on the board with a hold for 1-2.
But it was too little, too late and a mere respite from the brutality. Sinner broke again to lead 4-1, held easily for 5-1 and then broke again to finish things off, with Ruud puffing out his cheeks at the end with a rueful smile on his face.
