Sinner brushes Rublev aside in Rome to get record-breaking win, Medvedev joins him in semis

[p]Another straight-sets victory, this time [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/tennis/rublev-a-AeAn4gP0/sinner-j-6HdC3z4H/?mid=x4FrUA87"]6-2, 6-4[/a] over [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/rublev-andrey/AeAn4gP0/"]Rublev[/a], moved [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/sinner-jannik/6HdC3z4H/"]Sinner[/a] up to 32 straight wins in the ATP's top-ranked events, one more than the previous record established by [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/djokovic-novak/AZg49Et9/"]Novak Djokovic[/a] in 2011.[/p][p][b]"I don't play for records, I play just for my own story,"[/b] said Sinner on court.[/p][p][b]"At the same time, it means a lot to me, but tomorrow is another day, another opponent, a different opponent."[/b][/p][embed guid="9e5b7048-78d5-404a-9fde-60d4c5b2dfb1" url="https://x.com/i/status/2054907352088813931" social-type="twitter" /][p]Rublev was Sinner's first seeded opponent at this year's tournament in Rome, and the world number one made short work of his task in front of a delighted centre court.[/p][p]Rublev offered little resistance, the Russian dropping his own serve in the first game of both sets to give Sinner a handy leg-up, and committing 28 unforced errors in 18 games.[/p][p]Sinner meanwhile showed flashes of his best tennis, with one beautiful cross-court drop shot helping him to break Rublev for the fourth time and take a 4-1 lead in the second set, which gave his opponent too much to do.[/p][image alt="Sinner vs Rublev match stats" id="bd375295-00bf-4e75-9b26-8ad23c05e010" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="5753ed03-0105-444e-b640-82c5530c8f25" original-width="1080" original-height="1080" /][p][b]"I felt like we both didn't play at our best today, but at the same time, you know, the conditions here are very tough," [/b]said Sinner of the changeable and windy weather in Rome.[/p][p][b]"I tried to adapt myself in the best possible way, and obviously I'm happy."[/b][/p][p]Sinner looks near unbeatable at the moment, and with his great rival [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/alcaraz-garfia-carlos/UkhgIFEq/"]Carlos Alcaraz[/a] out injured, he is the heavy favourite to become the first Italian to win the Rome title in five decades, with a potential career Grand Slam on the cards at the French Open.[/p][p]The 24-year-old will meet [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/medvedev-daniil/O8qG0Nhb/"]Medvedev[/a], tournament winner here in 2023, in the last four after the Russian came through a hugely entertaining match against Spanish lucky loser [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/landaluce-martin/AoOnGZEp/"]Landaluce[/a].[/p][p]After being picked to replace the injured 14th seed [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/vacherot-valentin/rFqoSYd8/"]Valentin Vacherot[/a], 20-year-old Landaluce had a dream tournament and looked set for his first Masters 1000 semi-final after racing to the first five games on his way to winning the first set.[/p][p]But Medvedev stemmed the tide and, helped by a short rain interruption, he roared back with some beautiful tennis as the pair went at each other shot for shot before the seventh seed eventually prevailed.[/p][embed guid="8719b4b7-51b4-4714-9399-3a95fe967197" url="https://x.com/InteBNLdItalia/status/2055014166272827708" social-type="twitter" /]