Jannik Sinner continued his impressive form on Thursday, beating Tomas Machac in the Monte Carlo Masters third round.
Sinner’s streak of 37 consecutive sets won at ATP Masters 1000 events came to an end against the Czech star, yet the Italian remained composed before closing out the three-set contest.
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The 24-year-old, who defeated Machac 6-1, 6-7, 6-3, will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Monte Carlo quarter-finals.
Should Sinner go on to win the Monegasque event, he would join Novak Djokovic in completing an extraordinary ATP feat.
Jannik Sinner could match Novak Djokovic’s historic feat
Only one player in men’s tennis history has won the Miami Open and Monte Carlo Masters back-to-back.
That player is Novak Djokovic, who achieved the feat in 2015.
Djokovic defeated Andy Murray in the Miami Open final, before beating Tomas Berdych to win the Monegasque title.
If Sinner were to win the Monte Carlo Masters this week, he would become only the second player to win Miami and Monte Carlo in the same calendar year.
Remarkably, if this potential situation were to play out, Sinner would also join Djokovic as the only player to win Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo in a calendar year.
Before competing in Miami, Djokovic won the 2015 Indian Wells Masters, beating Roger Federer 6–3, 6–7, 6–2 in the final.
Upon completing the trifecta in Monte Carlo, Djokovic reflected on his winning run – which had reached 17 matches.
“Honestly I’m not thinking about how long I can keep it or how long the streak will go,” Djokovic told reporters during his title-winning press conference in Monaco.
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“Fortunately I had one time a similar situation in my career, in 2011, when I won over 40 matches in a row. I got that question asked basically after every match, How long it’s going to go, how long it’s going to go.
“I really don’t know. It’s something I can’t influence and predict. What I can do and influence right now is rest, recover, ’cause I need at least a week of good rest. It’s been a long couple months for me. Very successful, though. I cannot complain.
“But I played a lot of matches, traveled a lot with Davis Cup, Dubai, Indian Wells, Miami, coming here, not having too much time, already getting into clay that is a totally different surface.
“So I’m healthy, obviously very confident. Everything is going in the right direction. I just need to take some time off, which is equally as important as the work I do on the court.”
When Novak Djokovic ended Rafael Nadal’s Monte Carlo record
Djokovic, who is not competing at the 2026 Monte Carlo Masters, has competed at the event 18 times throughout his 20-year career.
The Serbian superstar has won the event twice, the first being in 2013.
That year, Djokovic ended Rafael Nadal’s eight-year winning run at the event. Nadal, widely considered to be the best clay-court player in tennis history, won 47 matches in Monte Carlo between 2005 and 2012.
After defeating Nadal 6-2, 7-6, Djokovic told reporters: “Well, he [Nadal] allowed me to win it once, and I’m very thrilled for that. He won it eight times in a row, so he’s been saying how much he loves and enjoys this tournament.
“On the other hand I do, too, it was a third lucky time for me. That’s why it’s very special because it’s the first time I won this trophy at my home basically.”
