Mumbai: In his pomp, Novak Djokovic was called a machine. Some are now calling Jannik Sinner a robot.
Make what you will of that term, but those who play the sport at the highest level know.
“When you realise how difficult tennis is,” Casper Ruud, the former world No.2 currently ranked 25th, told TNTSports, “if you can make it look robotic, it shows how good you are.”
Sinner, at the moment, is too darn good. So good that he has taken down an eye-popping Djokovic record that stood for 15 years with mind-boggling dominance and nonchalance.
“I don’t play for records,” the world No.1 said on Thursday. “I play just for my own story.”
The latest story in his history-setting book is Sinner breaking Djokovic’s all-time record for most consecutive wins at the ATP Masters 1000 events, which are just below Grand Slams in status.
The Italian’s 6-2, 6-4 quarter-final victory against Russian Andrey Rublev in Rome was his 32nd on the trot at the Masters, surpassing Djokovic’s tally of 31 in 2011.
The routine-like day out exemplified Sinner’s past few months where he has made winning look routine.
It really isn’t. Especially in Masters events that are reserved for the top ranked players.
There’s a reason Djokovic’s record went unchallenged for more than a decade. There’s a reason the closest anybody came to matching that kind of efficiency was, well, the machine himself (Djokovic conjured up 30 straight Masters wins again in 2014-2015).
There’s a reason Carlos Alcaraz, even in his career-best 2025 season featuring a 71-9 win-loss record, could only win 17 consecutive matches at the Masters. There’s a reason there had been no new entrant in the top-10 winning streak at that level since 2016 prior to that.
There’s a reason that the top-10 list has just four names after Sinner’s 32 – Djokovic (31, 30, 23, 22), Roger Federer (29), Rafael Nadal (23, 18, 18), Pete Sampras (19).
The 24-year-old is bossing the Masters like few masters of the game have.
Sinner hasn’t tasted defeat at that level since a Round of 32 retirement at the Shanghai Masters last October. He has dropped just two sets in 32 matches, en route to being unbeaten from Paris to Indian Wells to Miami to Monte Carlo to Madrid to Rome, and pocketing a record 37 straight sets between Paris and Miami.
The four-time Slam champion has captured a remarkable 121 victories from 150 outings at the Masters level. Only Nadal (123) has more from his first 150 matches since the format’s introduction in 1990, as per OptaAce. Sinner has gobbled five consecutive Masters titles to become the first man to do so, and should the juggernaut roll onto Rome, he will complete the Career Golden Masters (winning all nine Masters events). Only Djokovic has done that so far.
Sinner is going places (and beyond) where only the OG master had set foot.
Djokovic’s 2011 streak was the stuff of legend, not just due to the numbers he raked up but also the opponents he took down.
It began with the Serb going past Federer, seeded second, and top seed Nadal at Indian Wells. Then Nadal again in Miami. Then Nadal again in Madrid and Rome, in straight sets on a surface the Spaniard wouldn’t usually let anyone else come anywhere near him. Montreal was comparatively easier – Djokovic beat Mardy Fish in the final – before a mid-match retirement in the Cincinnati final, with Andy Murray leading 6-4, 3-0, ended it.
During the relentless run, Djokovic wore his first Wimbledon crown, snatched the world No.1 throne from Nadal, and flipped the script in the rivalry with his greatest foe.
Some sizzling streaks took shape either side of that. By Federer (29) between the clay courts of Hamburg and Monte Carlo across his breathtaking 2005 (81-4 win-loss record) and 2006 (92-5) seasons. And by Djokovic (30) again between the hard courts of Paris and Montreal across the 2014 and 2015 seasons.
Yet, nothing could quite mirror that master Djokovic of 2011. Until this master Sinner of 2026. Djokovic was 24 then. Sinner is 24 now. Only a physical issue could stop the machine then. What can stop the robot now?
