World number one Jannik Sinner continued his blistering form at the Madrid Open, defeating Britain's Cameron Norrie 6-2, 7-5 to reach the quarter-finals and equal a historic winning streak in ATP Masters 1000 events.
The Italian, who has already won the Indian Wells, Miami Open, and Monte Carlo titles this season, extended his winning run to 20 matches. He becomes only the second player in tennis history to win the first 20 Masters 1000 matches of a season, matching Novak Djokovic's feats in 2011 and 2015.
Norrie started strongly, holding serve to love in the opening game, but Sinner quickly took control, breaking twice to claim the first set 6-2. The second set was more competitive, with Norrie fighting back from a break down. However, at 5-5, Sinner broke Norrie after the Briton saved two break points, then served out the match in the next game.
"We know each other quite well. We practised a lot in the last tournament. We both kind of knew what to expect," Sinner said. "This surface is very different to all the other surfaces so it's tough to get the right feedback. But I'm happy to be through in two sets."
Sinner will face either Vit Kopriva or 19-year-old local wildcard Rafael Jodar in the quarter-finals. The Italian also commented on the late scheduling of matches, noting that Jodar's previous match finished after 1:30 am. "We need to make some adjustments with scheduling," Sinner said.