Jannik Sinner enters the French Open on a 29-match win streak, chasing a career Grand Slam

ROME -- From the California desert to Miami; Monte Carlo to Madrid; and the red clay of Rome, too, nobody has been able to beat Jannik Sinner for three full months.

By sweeping the first five Masters 1000 tournaments of the year, the top-ranked Sinner has dominated tennis like few other players have in the sport’s recent history while amassing a 29-match winning streak.

And yet now the stakes are rising for Sinner as he attempts to complete a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open. The clay-court Grand Slam, which starts on Sunday in Paris, is the only major that Sinner hasn’t won.

A couple of hours after becoming the first Italian man to win the Italian Open in 50 years on Sunday, Sinner’s focus was already pivoting toward Roland Garros.

“We don’t have much time to realize what we’re accomplishing,” Sinner said. “I said it before the start of the year: My main goal is and remains Paris.

“What we’ve done here and the rest of the year is incredible. I realize that. But mentally I know that now I’ve got to do all the right things. It’s necessary to rest, but I also need to stay in form because soon my most important tournament of the year is approaching. I don’t want to put too much pressure on myself, because that comes by itself.”

The pressure on Sinner has heightened with his only real rival, Carlos Alcaraz, currently sidelined due to a right wrist injury that will keep the Spaniard out of the French Open. Alcaraz became the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam when he won the Australian Open in February at 22.

The 24-year-old Sinner has matched Pete Sampras’ 29-match winning streak from 1994 for the fifth longest run in the ATP Tour era (since 1990). Novak Djokovic holds the record with 43 straight match wins in 2010-11.

All 9 Masters events in a year

With his Rome title, Sinner has already become the second man after Djokovic to win all nine Masters 1000 events — the biggest tournaments outside the Grand Slams — over his career. Djokovic won each event at least twice.

Might Sinner want to consider attempting to win all nine Masters events this year, now that there’s only Canada, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris remaining? That's something that not even Djokovic accomplished.

“We need to go tournament by tournament. The most important thing is to feel good physically on the court. If you’re not feeling well physically, you’ll go nowhere,” said Sinner, who had to overcome exhaustion and fatigue during a semifinal victory over Daniil Medvedev in Rome.

“The most important thing for me is my body. Everyone plays tennis well,” Sinner said of his fellow pros.

Still, Sinner suggested that because he won’t be playing any grass-court warmups before defending his Wimbledon title this year, “there’s a chance we play in Canada” in August.

“I don’t think it’s realistic,” Sinner added of winning all nine Masters in the same year. “It’s not possible to continue playing like I am now for the entire season.”

Sinner relaxes with golf and go-kart

Known for his understated celebrations and always maintaining his composure, Sinner is not one to dwell on his victories and titles.

“Happiness shouldn’t depend on winning a tournament or not,” he said. “I’m fairly even-tempered off the court. It’s small things that make me happy, like spending half a day playing golf or going to race go-Kart.”

Walk-ons with children make Sinner smile

Sinner’s humane side was on display when he accompanied kids from a children’s hospital onto the court in Rome.

One child’s overflowing joy made Sinner smile, while another time he had to slow his pace so the kid could keep up.

“Sometimes us tennis players, and it’s not nice to say, we don’t realize how fortunate we are,” Sinner said. “These might be the moments that touch me the most, because you make physical contact with the kids. … Minor gestures that they’ll remember forever and which don’t cost us anything — or rather they provide us with beautiful feelings.”

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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis