Jannik Sinner’s stunning hard-court feat only matched by Novak Djokovic & Roger Federer
Jannik Sinner has been one of the defining tennis players of his generation, and the Italian has found himself particularly at home on hard courts during his career.
That was evident at Indian Wells this week, with world No 2 Sinner not dropping a set on his way to the title in Tennis Paradise, defeating Daniil Medvedev 7-6(6), 7-6(4) to triumph at the Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.
Victory for the Italian not only sealed his maiden title in Indian Wells, but also saw him join tennis icons Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer in a highly exclusive hard-court club.
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Masters success
Sinner’s place as a legendary hard-courter was already secure, though his Indian Wells success has guaranteed his place in history.
The Italian had already won five different Masters 1000 events on hard courts, and his victory in Sunday’s final means that he has now completed the set of Masters titles on this surface.
Sinner lifted his first Masters 1000 title at the 2023 Canadian Open, and then triumphed at the Miami Open in 2024 — after previous final losses in 2021 and 2023.
He would also win the Cincinnati Open and Shanghai Masters in 2024, and would then claim the Paris Masters title in 2025.
Before 2026, Indian Wells was the only hard-court Masters 1000 event where Sinner had not reached the final, falling at the semi-final stage in 2023 and 2024.
By reaching the final, he became the sixth man to reach the championship match at all six current Masters tournaments on the surface.
However, by winning the title, he joins Federer and Djokovic as the only three men to lift the title at all six current Masters hard-court events.
Hard-court title set complete
Though Sinner has been supremely successful at Masters level on hard courts, he has also found huge success elsewhere.
The Italian has won three of his four Grand Slam titles on the surface, lifting the US Open title in 2024 and claiming back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2024 and 2025.
And, he is also a two-time ATP Finals champion on hard courts, triumphing in Turin in both 2024 and 2025.
Not only does Sinner follow in Djokovic and Federer’s footsteps as the third man to win all hard-court Masters 1000 events, but he succeeds them in becoming the third man to win every ‘big’ title on the surface.
Combining Masters, Grand Slams, and year-end championships, Sinner has 11 ‘big’ titles on hard courts — well behind both Federer and Djokovic for now.
However, the 24-year-old is the youngest of the trio to complete the hard-court set.
Federer was 30 when he completed his collection at the 2011 Paris Masters, having previously won the hard-court Madrid Open — before the introduction of the Shanghai Masters, which he then won in 2014.
Meanwhile, Djokovic was 31 when he achieved this historic feat at the Cincinnati Open in 2018.
Of course, Djokovic remains the only man to triumph at all nine Masters 1000 events, with Sinner still looking to lift clay-court titles in Monte Carlo, Madrid, and Rome.
It should also be noted that tennis great Andre Agassi won all of the events Sinner has now won on hard courts, though his ATP Finals and Paris Masters victories came when the events were still held on carpet.
Medvedev has also come close to joining this exclusive club, though he is a three-time runner-up at both Indian Wells and the Australian Open.
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