Based on his recent results, Sinner arrives at the Masters 1000 in the Spanish capital as the clear favourite to win the title, which would further cement his position at the top of the ATP rankings.
Another factor that could work in the Italian's favor is the absence of Carlos Alcaraz for the second year in a row, with his rival missing the tournament through injury.
Flashscore asked Sinner whether it would be easier to win without the Spaniard in the draw, and the Monte Carlo champion gave us a detailed answer.
"It's definitely a tough blow for the tournament. He didn't play last year either, so two years in a row is hard. And with Novak out as well, it's also tough for the tournament to accept. It's always different when Carlos and Novak aren't in the draw," the Italian began.
However, he was keen to point out that there are always many hurdles to overcome before he faces Alcaraz at tournaments anyway: "I'd say it's quite unique, because we've played a lot of tournaments together since last year. But again, in my mind, I also know that if I want to play against Carlos, it would be in the final, and the road to the final is very long..."
"We take it day by day, and I have tough challenges ahead. Starting from the first day against a qualifier who has already won a couple of rounds here, which is really good. And then we'll see."
Finally, he made a reference to the very different conditions on the clay at the Madrid Open compared to other clay tournaments: "I'm happy to be here. I'm just trying to figure out how to play here, on this Madrid surface."