Jannik Sinner says Rafael Jodar 'pushed me to the limit' after beating 'incredible' player in Madrid Open quarter-finals

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Jannik Sinner reached the semi-finals of the Madrid Open with a 6-2 7-6(7-0) win against rising star Rafael Jodar on Wednesday evening in Spain.

Highlights: Sinner cruises past Norrie into Madrid quarter-finals

Video credit: SNTV

Sinner was coming off the back of beating Britain's Cameron Norrie on Tuesday, when he won 6-2 7-5.

Exciting Spanish youngster Jodar, meanwhile, downed his previous opponent Vit Kopriva in a 7-5 6-0 win.

Sinner is looking to go back-to-back in tournament title wins, having beaten then-world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz in the Monte-Carlo Masters earlier in the month.

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He has already enjoyed a 'Sunshine Double' success after landing both the Miami Open and Indian Wells.

Sinner broke Jodar twice in the first set and sent down four aces, keeping the pressure on as the Spaniard struggled to compete with the Italian.

In the second set, Jodar kept in touch with Sinner and took him all the way, but it was Sinner who held his nerve, taking the tie-break 7-0.

Injured Alcaraz will come back ‘stronger than before’ - Sinner

Video credit: SNTV

Sinner faced seven break points in all, but saved each of them as he showed his resilience.

After his three tournament consecutive wins and his success in Madrid, Sinner has now moved onto a 21-match winning streak.

Speaking shortly after his win, Sinner was full of praise for his 19-year-old opponent, saying that he had been taken to his limit.

”He pushed me to the limit,” Sinner said of the defeated teenager. ”He’s an incredible player. I tried to be ready as much as I could. But I’m incredibly happy.”

The 24-year-old believed that his extra years on court had given him a boost over the course of a match played under cover, with the roof of the Manolo Santana Stadium closed.

He continued: "It was a very high quality match. I got a bit lucky in the second set, but also [had] a bit of experience. I’m obviously very happy to be in the semis here for the first time. It means a lot to me.”

Sinner is yet to discover who his semi-final opponent will be, with the match to be held on Saturday, but it will be the winner of the match between Arthur Fils and Jiri Lehecka.

He is on the cusp of making men's tennis history, having won the Monte-Carlo Masters, Indian Wells and Miami Open, but also November's Paris Masters. A win here would make him the first man to win five consecutive Masters 1000 titles.

On the other side of the draw, Casper Ruud faces Alexander Blockx, and Alexander Zverev will take on Flavio Cobolli.

The final will be played on Sunday.

TNT Sports is the exclusive French Open broadcaster in the UK and Ireland. Coverage of every court will be available to stream live on HBO Max

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