Casper Ruud was left bewildered by the straight sets hammering dished out to him by Jannik Sinner on Thursday, as the world No 7 exited the Italian Open on the end of a fearful beating.
Sinner took little more than an hour to sweep aside Madrid champion Ruud on centre court at the Foro Italico, winning 6-0, 6-1 and storming into the Rome semifinals.
Nothing short of perfection 💯
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❤️🔥 @janniksin @InteBNLdItalia | #IBI25 pic.twitter.com/CyNDUVd7dE
"It's near as perfect that I witnessed, at least as a player, playing someone, so just got to give it to him," Ruud told reporters.
"Everything else that came out of his racket... feels like a hundred miles an hour plus, every single shot, on the forearm, from the backhand, and even on my shots that I feel at times are pretty heavy it comes back like just firing.
"He was just everywhere... it's just like playing a wall that you know shoots hundred miles an hour balls at you all the time."
Ruud drew the loudest cheer of the night when he held his serve to win his only game, and he insisted that even he enjoyed watching Sinner's dominant performance.
"It doesn't feel so bad honestly, I think it was more fun than anything," said Ruud.
"You just look at the guy and say 'wow this is kind of next-level shit', excuse my language. I don't know what else to say, it was almost fun to witness.
"I was there ready to play but he was just even readier."
Sinner will face Tommy Paul, a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 winner over Hubert Hurkacz in the day's first match, in the last four on Friday evening as he continues his comeback from a three-month doping ban.
The world No 1 could yet play rival Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster final between tennis' leading men.