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Sinner routs Ruud to tee up Paul showdown in Rome

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Clock Icon3 hoursTennis

Jannik Sinner swatted aside Casper Ruud in straight sets to take his place in the semi-finals of the Italian Open.

The world number one, who has made his return from a three-month suspension at his home event over the past two weeks, cruised to a statement win in just 64 minutes.

Sinner delivered a masterclass, dropping just one game as he triumphed 6-0 6-1.

Indeed, Ruud – who has a brilliant record on clay and won the Madrid Open less than two weeks ago – jubilantly celebrated the one game he won with a wry smile, such was Sinner's dominance.

Sinner was asked how close to perfection his performance was.

"It’s tough to say. I was feeling great on the court today. I think we all saw that," he said.

"My goal was to try to understand where my level is at this tournament. It raised day by day, so I’m very happy about that. The result doesn’t really matter, but I felt today was a very positive sign for me.

"Everything can change in one day. It’s not that one performance can tell everything about my shape now, but I’m very happy. I think today everything worked very well.

"I was serving well, also returning well, and moving great on the court. I’m very happy about that and now let’s see what’s coming in the semis."

Next up for Sinner, who sealed the win with a blistering winner, will face Tommy Paul in the last four.

Paul beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 to secure back-to-back appearances in the Italian Open semi-finals.

Data Debrief: Sinner's city

Sinner, at the age of 23 years and 264 days, is the youngest player to claim 14+ consecutive ATP Masters 1000 match wins since Rafael Nadal in 2007 (20 years and 345 days).

His next opponent, Paul, is just the fourth American man in the Open Era to reach successive semi-finals at the Italian Open, after Eddie Dibbs (1978-79), Jim Courier (1992-93) and Pete Sampras (1993-94).