By
SABC Sport
29th April 2026
World No 1 Sinner moved into the semi-finals at the Madrid Open after he ended the impressive run of Jodar, with his 6-2, 7-6(0) victory allowing him to move on to 13750 in the live rankings.
That ensured he will now eclipse Alcaraz's record points total of 13,650 points he achieved earlier this year.
He is still some way short of the all-time ATP Ranking points record set by Novak Djokovic, with the Serbian notching up 16,950 points when he was at the peak of his powers in June 2016.
But if Sinner wins the Madrid Open and backs it up with success in next month's Italian Open and then goes on to win his first French Open title, the Italian will have a chance to get close to Djokovic's all-time record.
Sinner's latest win against Jodar was another impressive example of the Italian's winning mentality, with the player who has won the last four ATP Masters 1000 tournaments showing no sign of allowing his standards to drop.
Jodar's stunning rise up the ATP Rankings has been one of the big stories in tennis this season, as he started 2026 down in No 168 place in the rankings and is now up to No 34 after his run to the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
His performance against Sinner impressed the world No 1 and he offered up glowing words for the 19-year-old after his win.
"I already knew before the match that it's going to be very tough, especially here (in Madrid). He's from here and he knows exactly how to play in these conditions," Sinner told Sky Sports Tennis.
"At the same time, I got a little bit more experience in the second set, got a bit lucky at times, but I tried to keep the level as high as I could.
"I missed a couple of easy shots, but this is tennis, and I'm happy with how I ended the match.
"He pushed me to the limit. He's an incredible player. I tried to be ready as much as I could. But I'm incredibly happy.
"It was a very high quality match. I got a bit lucky in the second set, but also (had) a bit of experience. I'm obviously very happy to be in the semis here for the first time. It means a lot to me."
Sinner sets high standards for himself and he admitted there was room for improvement in his performance as he added: "I played well, but maybe I could have changed the return position a little bit before.
"These are small details, but they can help me for the rest of the tournament. I'm very happy to be here. I'm trying to keep my energy as high as possible."
Sinner's relentless winning run in ATP Masters tournaments has now been stretched to 26 matches, as he joined Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as the only players to reach the semi-finals of the first four events at this level at the start of a season.
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