Ruud described Sinner's level as "close to perfection." Casper reflected on the match and admitted it did not feel that bad. He also stated it was fun to witness an opponent on a different level.

The ace from Sesto Pusteria has always defeated the Norwegian player in official matches, but they have never faced each other on red clay and Ruud is back to play his best tennis as evidenced by his triumph at the Mutua Madrid Open a short time ago.

Or maybe Jannik Sinner just likes playing against Casper Ruud. Whatever it was, the top-ranked Sinner cranked up his level to near perfection at times in a 6-0, 6-1 dismantling of Ruud in the Italian Open quarterfinals — after Sinner was granted an audience with the new tennis-playing pope just down the road at the Vatican.