ROME (AP) 鈥� Most players 鈥� even some of the very best ones 鈥� have days where they struggle and don鈥檛 feel the ball the way that they want to.
For top-ranked , those types of days are getting rarer and rarer.
And with due to a right wrist injury, it doesn鈥檛 seem like anyone can beat the top-ranked Sinner as the heart of the tennis season approaches with the French Open and Wimbledon coming up over the next two months.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very stable. He doesn鈥檛 have dips. He doesn鈥檛 have phases where he goes down,鈥� No. 3 Alexander Zverev said after getting routed by Sinner in Sunday鈥檚 for his ninth straight loss to the Italian. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why he鈥檚 world No. 1.鈥�
Sinner鈥檚 title in the Spanish capital made him the first player to win five consecutive Masters 1000 events 鈥� the top tournaments outside of the Grand Slams 鈥� and extended his winning streak to 23 matches.
Sinner hasn鈥檛 lost since getting beat by Jakub Mensik in the Qatar Open quarterfinals on Feb. 19.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a big gap between Sinner and everybody else right now,鈥� Zverev said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 quite simple.
And to think that at age 24, Sinner is still developing his game.
鈥淗e hasn鈥檛 reached his full potential yet,鈥� said Simone Vagnozzi, one of Sinner鈥檚 coaches. 鈥淲e鈥檙e sure of that. And that鈥檚 key, because when you feel like you鈥檝e maxed out it鈥檚 tough to find the motivation to keep training.鈥�
Italian Open next
Up next for Sinner is his home , which starts this week and also happens to be the only Masters Series event that he hasn鈥檛 won.
While there have been questions over whether Sinner might sit out Rome after his string of successes and choose to rest up for the French Open, which starts May 24, he dismissed that idea after beating Zverev.
鈥淧laying at home is always very special,鈥� Sinner said. 鈥淧hysically, I鈥檓 good. There is no reason not to play Rome.鈥�
Last year, in his comeback tournament after a three-month doping ban.
Now it doesn鈥檛 seem like there鈥檚 anyone to stop him from becoming the first Italian man to raise the trophy at the Foro Italico since Adriano Panatta 50 years ago. The same goes for the French Open, which is the only Grand Slam title that Sinner hasn鈥檛 won.
Sinner wasted three match points in a fifth-set tiebreaker loss to Alcaraz in last year鈥檚 Roland Garros final.
There are three other Italians in the top 20 of the rankings: No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti; No. 12 Flavio Cobolli and No. 20 Luciano Darderi. But guess what? Sinner’s career record against fellow Italians is a perfect 18-0.
Sabalenka, Swiatek and Gauff
On the women鈥檚 side, it鈥檚 a bit more difficult to pick out favorites during the clay season.
Like Sinner, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka pulled off the 鈥淪unshine double鈥� on hard courts with titles in Indian Wells, California, and Miami. But then she was beaten by in the Madrid quarterfinals after wasting six match points.
Also in Madrid, four-time French Open champion during a third-round match.
took the trophy in Madrid by beating Mirra Andreeva for her first WTA 1000 title.
Last year in Rome, home player in both singles and doubles (with partner Sara Errani).
was the runner-up in Rome last year and then went on to win the French Open.
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