Sinner proved too consistent and clinical for the No. 169-ranked Dane Moller, and the Italian powered his way to a one-hour, 17-minute third-round triumph in the crowded Manolo Santana Stadium against Moller, who was facing a Top-10 player for the first time.
Sinner thereby extended his Masters 1000 winning streak to 24 matches, the fourth longest in series history.
“I tried to stay calm and serve well in important moments,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “I think that was the key today. There was not a lot of rhythm, so I tried to stay quite compact. Let’s see what’s coming in the next round.”
The Dane competed admirably in the second half of the match when he recovered his rhythm on his backhand, his standout shot with which he has soared towards the World’s Top 100, in the second set.
Despite the defeat, Moller can look back on a good week in Madrid with two wins in the qualifying round and two wins in the main tournament before clashing with Sinner. With a total of five matches in Madrid, Moller is set to jump from a position of number 169 to near the top 150 in the world rankings.
Moller's highest ranking was number 102 last year.