Sinner reaches Madrid Open final by beating Arthur Fils for 350th career victory

MADRID (AP) — Top-ranked Jannik Sinner extended his winning streak to 22 matches by beating Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-4 to reach the final of the Madrid Open on Friday.

The Italian’s 350th career victory makes him the first man born in the 2000s to reach that milestone.

“I’m very happy about the general performance today. I’m trying to play the best possible tennis. Today was a very good day in the office,” Sinner said in an on-court interview after not facing a break point in the semifinal.

Sinner, trying to become the first man to win five consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments, will face third-ranked Alexander Zverev or Belgium’s Alexander Blockx in Sunday’s final.

Sinner also joined an elite list with Friday’s win: He’s the fourth and youngest man to reach the final at all nine Masters 1000 events, after Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

The world No. 1 broke Fils’ serve twice in the first set and came under pressure at 30-30 in the sixth game of the second set before holding serve with back-to-back aces to get to 3-3.

Sinner got the key break with a backhand winner down the line for a 5-4 lead before serving out the match against the Frenchman.

Sinner’s winning run has included titles in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo.

In the women’s event, Mirra Andreeva will face Marta Kostyuk in Saturday’s final.

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis