In the universe, nothing moves faster than the speed of light. In tennis, it seemed nothing could move faster than Djokovic, who at 37 became the first player to win every important trophy in the tour. Jannik Sinner’s title run in Rome, at just 24 years old, appears to shatter that law.
With his victory over Norway’s Casper Ruud in the final of the Rome Masters 1000, 6-4, 6-4, the world number one became only the second player to conquer all nine Masters 1000 titles, matching Novak Djokovic, who achieved the feat at 31 years old.
That milestone, added to his two ATP Finals titles, two Davis Cups and four Grand Slam trophies, leaves him just two achievements away from completing tennis: Roland Garros and Olympic gold.
So far, Novak Djokovic remains the only player to have won every Grand Slam, every Masters 1000 event, reached world number one, claimed Olympic gold and led his country to a Davis Cup title. He completed that collection in 2024, when, at the age of 37 and in his fifth Olympic attempt, he defeated Carlos Alcaraz in Paris.
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Jannik Sinner is on course to match him, but at an entirely different pace from the Serbian. Right now, he has no real rivals on the tour, and in two weeks he will arrive at Roland Garros having won the last six Masters 1000 events played, and as only the second player in history to capture Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome in the same season, after Rafael Nadal in 2010.
That is why the title on Court Philippe Chatrier at times feels almost inevitable. With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined through injury, there are currently no players capable of truly challenging Sinner, who has lost just two matches this year and is riding a 29-match winning streak.
If he wins Roland Garros, he will become only the tenth player in history to complete the career Grand Slam, leaving the Olympic Games as the only major achievement missing from his collection. At 24 years old, that would be an almost unimaginable feat, especially considering that not even during the era of the Big Three was a player on track to achieve it at such an age.
Novak Djokovic completed the career Grand Slam at 29, won all nine Masters 1000 titles at 31 and claimed Olympic gold at 37 — an age by which many players have already retired.
Rafael Nadal completed the set of Grand Slams at 24, but retired without titles in Miami, Shanghai, Paris and the ATP Finals. Roger Federer, meanwhile, completed the Grand Slams at 27, but never managed to win Monte Carlo or Olympic singles gold, while his Davis Cup triumph came at 33.
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The numbers of the defending Wimbledon champion also stand out when compared to Carlos Alcaraz, his great rival. Although the Spaniard is two years younger and has already won every Grand Slam title, he still has an unresolved issue in the latter stages of the season: he has never gone beyond the quarter-finals in Canada, Shanghai or Paris, nor has he managed to win the ATP Finals, where he lost the 2025 final to Sinner. He has also yet to lead Spain to a Davis Cup title, something the country has not achieved since 2019.
Even so, this generational — and historic — rivalry will have a defining moment in 2028, when the Los Angeles Olympic Games are played on hard courts. If Sinner wins Roland Garros this year or within the next two, he will head to his first Olympics with the chance to complete tennis at just 27 years old — a full decade younger than Djokovic.
His main rival at the Carson Tennis Center, unless a new star emerges, will be Carlos Alcaraz. An added layer of intrigue, given that the Australian Open champion is also still chasing Olympic gold. The perfect stage to complete the game in record time.
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