World No. 1 Jannik Sinner moved into the quarterfinals of the Madrid Masters 1000 on Tuesday, defeating Britain’s Cameron Norrie 6-2, 7-5 in a controlled fourth-round performance on the clay at Manolo Santana Stadium.
The Italian, who had dropped a set in his previous match against France’s Benjamin Bonzi, looked sharp from the start against Norrie. He raced through the opening set in 35 minutes and kept the Briton under pressure for much of the second before closing out the match in 1 hour and 26 minutes.
Norrie, ranked No. 23 and seeded 19th in Madrid, gave Sinner more resistance in the second set. After falling behind, he broke back to level at 3-3 and briefly gave himself a chance to extend the match. But Sinner regained control late, breaking for 6-5 before serving out the victory.
The win sends Sinner into a quarterfinal against either Czech player Vit Kopriva or Spanish wild card Rafael Jódar, one of the surprise stories of the tournament. Jódar, 19, reached the last 16 after defeating Brazil’s João Fonseca 7-6, 4-6, 6-1 in a match that ended just before 1 a.m. on Monday.
Sinner is playing Madrid for the fourth time in his career and is still chasing his first semifinal appearance in the Spanish capital. His victory over Norrie also extended his winning streak at ATP Masters 1000 level to 25 matches.
After the match, Sinner used his early start time to raise a broader concern about tournament scheduling. He said he understood why Jódar, his possible next opponent, had been given a later Tuesday slot after finishing so late in the previous round. But he also suggested that organizers should look again at how the night schedule is structured.
Sinner said playing at 11 a.m. was unusual for him, but he had no issue adapting. His concern was with players being forced to finish matches deep into the night, then eat, recover and receive treatment before returning to tournament routines.
“I feel like we need to make some adjustments,” Sinner said of the schedule, adding that having matches start after 8 p.m. can push the sport too far into the early morning.
For Sinner, the win was another step in a strong clay-court campaign. For Madrid, his comments added to a familiar debate in tennis: how to balance television windows, ticket sales and player recovery at tournaments where night sessions can easily run past midnight.
