Jannik Sinner is now the outright holder of the longest-winning streak in tennis by an Italian man after he notched up his 17th win in a row on the ATP Tour.
The Australian Open champion remains undefeated in 2024 as he made it 14-0 for the season with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round of the Indian Wells Open.
Unsurprisingly, confidence is sky-high for the 22-year-old.
“I feel like I have confidence in my shots,” the third seed said. “That’s why I work hard, trying to get a feel. There are good days and worse days. Today I felt really good on court. Let’s see what’s coming in the next round.”
Sinner’s 17-match winning streak also includes wins from Italy’s Davis Cup final run in November 2023 with his three singles victories helping the European country to win their first title since 1976.
The year 1976 is also significant in terms of Sinner’s winning streak as that was the year that Adriano Panatta won 16 matches in a row. Interestingly, Panatta’s 16-match win streak also started at the Davis Cup, but that was in March 1976 and his run was ended at Nottingham in June.
That 48-year-old record has now been beaten by Sinner and he could extend that record in the coming days.
Having followed up his Australian Open title with the Rotterdam Open trophy, Sinner is looking to become the first player in Open Era history to win his next two tournaments after claiming a first Grand Slam crown.
READ MORE: How Jannik Sinner can make Open Era history with feat that eluded Djokovic, Nadal, Federer
Jannik Sinner’s 17-Match Winning Streak
Davis Cup
1. Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
2. Novak Djokovic 6-2, 2-6, 7-5
3. Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-0
Australian Open
4. Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5, 6-3
5. Jesper de Jong 6-2, 6-2, 6-2
6. Sebastian Baez 6-0, 6-1, 6-3
7. Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5, 6-3
8. Andrey Rublev 6-4, 7-5 (7-5), 6-3
9. Novak Djokovic 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6-7), 6-3
10. Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
Rotterdam Open
11. Botic van de de Zandschulp 6-3, 6-3
12. Gael Monfils 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
13. Milos Raonic 7-6 (7-4), 1-1 ret
14. Tallon Griekspoor 6-2, 6-4
15. Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-4
Indian Wells Open
16. Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 6-0
17. Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-4
Sinner will look to take his winning streak to 18 on Tuesday when he takes on either 16th seed Ben Shelton or 22nd seed Francisco Cerundolo for a spot in the quarter-final.
The Italian finds himself at No 2 behind Novak Djokovic in the LIVE Rankings and he could stay ahead of Carlos Alcaraz if he outperforms the defending champion at Indian Wells.
To add further spice to the battle, Sinner and Alcaraz are projected to meet in the semi-final with the match set to be a shootout for the official No 2 spot. The pair also met in the last four last year with Alcaraz winning that match 7-6 (7-4), 6-3.
READ MORE: How Jannik Sinner’s ‘first strike’ tactic has given him an edge over Novak Djokovic
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