Miami [US], March 24 : Italian tennis sensation and world number two Jannik Sinner made history as he surpassed Serbian icon Novak Djokovic to win the most successive sets at ATP Masters 1000 level events during his commanding Miami Open third round win over Corentin Moutet.
Sinner's number of successive set wins at the ATP Masters 1000 level went up to 26, surpassing Djokovic's 24 as he beat Moutet 6-1, 6-4, continuing an exceptional, unprecedented show of consistency.
Sinner had equalled Djokovic's mark during his second-round win.
Speaking after the match, Sinner was quoted as saying by ATP's official website, "I am very happy. This sport is unpredictable, so we try to keep attention as much as we can, and we will see what is coming in the next round."
Sinner's happy ATP Masters 1000 streak can be traced back to November's Paris Masters event, where he had an unbeaten run to capture the title without dropping a set. Carrying that momentum into March, he secured the Indian Wells Open title. Now, with his third-round win against Moutet, Sinner has achieved 13 successive ATP Masters 1000 matches as well.
During the match, there were no signs that his streak was in jeopardy. Sinner dictated the match with his dominant serve, getting 87 per cent (33/38) of his first-serve points and firing 23 winners as compared to Moutet's 11. The Frenchman was no match for Sinner's class and consistency.
After this win in just an hour and 11 minutes, Sinner went two in two against Moutet.
"There's Ben [Shelton], Tien, Shapovalov, Moutet," Sinner said. "I do not want to forget other players, but we try to prepare in the best way possible, trying to be tactical and as perfect as possible," he added after his win.
The world number two's next challenge would be Alex Michelsen in the fourth roundm who defeated Alejandro Tabilo 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.