Sinner opens Rome with clinical Ofner win as Masters streak stretches to 29
While Aryna Sabalenka, Jasmine Paolini, Félix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton all fell out of Rome on the same afternoon, Jannik Sinner was the pole of stability. The Italian (No 1) eased past Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4 on Campo Centrale to extend his run at Masters 1000 level to 29 matches – and to put one more match between him and the only Masters trophy still missing from his collection.
Jannik Sinner, Rome 2026 | © AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino/SIPA
On a day that saw Aryna Sabalenka and Jasmine Paolini both fall on Campo Centrale and Félix Auger-Aliassime and Ben Shelton tumble out on the other show courts, Jannik Sinner was the pole of stability the adoring Foro Italico needed.
The top seed began his quest for a maiden Rome ATP Masters 1000 title with a clinical 6-3, 6-4 win over Austrian Sebastian Ofner in the second round, extending his Masters 1000 winning streak to 29 matches and his overall run to 24 in front of a home crowd that included his parents in the stands.
The Italian, who arrived in Rome riding five consecutive Masters titles dating back to Paris last November, conceded just nine games and now has 46 wins from his last 48 matches. He has also dropped only two sets in his last 60 played at Masters level.
Rome is the only Masters 1000 trophy still missing from his collection; victory in the Italian capital would make him the second man after Novak Djokovic to complete the Career Golden Masters, and the first Italian man since Adriano Panatta in 1976 to lift the trophy.
Sinner : “Amazing feeling”
The match itself was a strange one, interrupted twice – including once at 5-4 in the second set, just as Sinner was about to serve for the win. He held his focus through both stoppages and closed it out without further alarm.
“It’s an amazing feeling. The first matches, the most important part is trying not to lose,” Sinner said after the match. “The level eventually comes day by day. It’s been always a very special tournament for me since day one, starting with the wild card back in the day. Every year when you come here you reflect a little bit. Being Italian, in one year many things can change – good and bad. I’m very happy to be here. Let’s see what’s coming in the next round.”
Asked about the mindset of “trying not to lose” while sitting on a 24-match winning streak, Sinner pushed back gently. “Honestly, every situation, every week, every tournament is very different. I try to get into a good match rhythm again, even though I played a lot the last couple of months. I’m very happy. Let’s see what’s coming in the next round.”
Sinner will face Alexei Popyrin or Jakub Menšík in the third round. Mensil would be a rematch of one of only two losses he has suffered this season – the Czech beat him in the Doha quarter-finals in February.
