Jannik Sinner maintained his strong run of form and made a bit of history as he beat Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open.
The Italian top seed dismantled his opponent 6-0 6-2 in just over 70 minutes at the ATP Masters 1000 event on Thursday (August 14).
The victory was an important one for Sinner as he had lost all three previous matches against his Canadian opponent.
The reigning champion in Cincinnati displayed pure domination during the contest, with a break landed by Auger Aliassime in the Italian's first service game of the second set the only blip of a commanding performance.
Sinner is playing in his first tournament since winning Wimbledon for the first time last month as he chose to skip the Canadian Open.
The four-time Grand Slam winner was very pleased with his efficient showing on Thursday, saying: "I felt like I was returning very well. That was my key point, which gave me the confidence to serve well."
"I had a small drop in the second set when he broke me. I'm happy I broke him back quite early. I felt like I was performing some great tennis," the 23-year-old added.
Excited to be back in the semifinals 🤝🏻 @CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/ckOY61PpST
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) August 15, 2025
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The world no. 1 will take on unseeded Frenchman Terance Atmane on Saturday (August 16), for a place in the final.
Sinner joins elite company after beating Auger-Aliassime
This latest win means Sinner has extended his winning run on the hard court surface to 25 matches, with the streak beginning back at the 2024 Shanghai Masters.
This makes him just the fifth male tennis player this century to achieve this, with the other names being Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and one of his current main competitors, Novak Djokovic.
This is elite company for Sinner to be in as those four players are regarded as the best male competitors of the past two decades, with a total of 69 Grand Slam titles between them.
Federer and Djokovic achieved the feat three times each, while Nadal and Murray both managed it once.
Sinner still has some way to go to match the overall winning record of 56 consecutive hard court wins, which Federer set between 2005-2006.
While Sinner excels on all surfaces, hard courts are where he appears at his most dangerous and dominant, with three of his Grand Slam titles being won on the surface.
Once the Cincinnati Open concludes, the Italian will gear up for the imminent defence of his US Open title in New York City.
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