Arthur Fils is on the cusp of greatness at 21 years old. The Frenchman has been toiling away for a few years, but began making inroads in 2025 at Masters 1000 events. In 2026, he could be ready to kick in the proverbial door, but that included trying to go through Jannik Sinner in the Madrid Open.
Sinner is the clear alpha of men's tennis currently, with Carlos Alcaraz out for a while with a wrist injury. His grasp on ATP No. 1 is only going to grow stronger with the Spaniard out as long as Sinner can do well at the French Open. He might also know that his list of high-end rivals will grow with Fils' ascension.
In the first set of the semifinal match, the Frenchman was no match for the Italian. Sinner won the set 6-2 and led 5-1 at one point. The top seed was even having a little fun deep into the set, working out some shots, such as what appeared to be a slice from deep in the deuce corner, that he might put to use at a later point.
Jannik Sinner overcomes Arthur Fils in the 2026 Madrid Open semifinals
Fils wasn't playing poorly, either; he just ran into Sinner playing at his best. All players might wilt in such a situation. The Italian won 79 percent of his first serves and 83 percent of his second serves. Fils managed to win only 31 percent of the latter.
The second set evened out, partly due to Fils not trying to hit his first serve so huge. Instead, he slowed the speed a tick, but aimed for the fatter part of the court. That kept him in points that he wasn't in set one. If Sinner was going to dominate as he did at the beginning of the match, the Italian would need to win more extended rallies.
At 4-all, though, Fils got himself in trouble on his serve, and Sinner got a relatively easy break. He then held with ease to take set two 6-4. His first serve wasn't great in the second set, but Fils learned that even when Sinner isn't in elite form, he is still better than everyone else currently healthy enough to play.
With the win, Sinner has now made the final of every Masters 1000 tournament. The only ones he hasn't won are the Madrid Open and the Italian Open. He has a chance to change both by the time May is over.
Jannik Sinner will next play the winner of the Alexander Zverev and Alexander Blockx match in the final on Sunday. Blockx had never reached the semifinal of any Masters event until Madrid. Zverev has won the tournament twice, in 2018 and 2021.
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