Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev repeat Nadal and Federer’s rare ATP achievement

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Alexander Zverev has followed Jannik Sinner into the Madrid Open quarter-finals, battling past Jakub Mensik on Tuesday night to secure his place in the last eight.

Zverev, ranked third in the world, overcame the former Miami Open champion 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 at the Caja Magica.

The German star and two-time Madrid winner will face 10th seed Flavio Cobolli next.

Earlier in the day, Italian top seed Jannik Sinner defeated Cameron Norrie in straight sets to reach the last eight.

With both top seeds advancing, they also set a milestone for the tournament. It’s been over a decade since this particular ATP record was last matched at this event.

Zverev and Sinner join rare company with consistent start to season

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According to OptaAce, Zverev and Sinner are the first duo to reach the quarter-finals of each of the season’s opening four ATP Masters 1000 tournaments since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal back in 2011.

That year, both Federer and Nadal kicked off their campaigns at Indian Wells by making it through to the semi-finals.

Nadal booked his place in the final after seeing off Juan Martin del Potro, while Federer was stopped by Novak Djokovic, who went on to win the title.

Later that month in Miami, they crossed paths again in the semis. This time facing each other directly.

Nadal got the better of it, winning 6-3, 6-2 before losing a tight final against Djokovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-7.

He responded quickly though, claiming a seventh straight Monte Carlo Masters title just a few weeks later. Federer’s run there ended earlier in the quarter-finals against Jurgen Melzer.