Top-ranked Jannik Sinner cranked up his level to near-perfection in a 6-0, 6-1 dismantling of Casper Ruud in the Italian Open quarterfinals on Thursday, a day after Sinner was granted a private audience with the new tennis-playing pope just down the road at the Vatican.

Sinner never really let Ruud – one of the best clay-court players on tour – have a chance. In his fourth match back after a three-month doping ban, the Italian blasted winners on the lines, finished off points with aggressive overhead smashes.

"I was feeling great on court today. I think we all saw that," Sinner said. "I was trying to understand where my level is here in this tournament. … How I felt today was very, very positive signs for me."

The seventh-ranked Ruud was coming off a title at the Madrid Open but in the first set he managed to win just seven points. The Norwegian dropped to 0-4 in his career against Sinner – and has never even taken a set off the Italian.

In fact, nobody has taken a set off Sinner in his four matches in Rome – not bad for Sinner's first tournament since he won his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

When Ruud finally won his only game early in the second set, he celebrated by raising both arms to the crowd and smiled. The match lasted 63 minutes.

Overall, Sinner won a whopping 55 of the 77 points, produced 22 winners to Ruud's seven and had only 10 unforced errors to Ruud's 17.

"It's as near as perfect that I witnessed," Ruud said. "It's just immensely impressive. ... It was like playing a wall that shoots 100 mph balls at you all the time."

When they met at the net to shake hands after the match, Ruud appeared to be laughing at the disparity in the contest.

"You just look at the guy and say, 'This is kind of next-level (expletive),'" Ruud said. "It was almost fun to witness at the same time."

Sinner extended his winning streak to 25 matches, dating to October. He will face Tommy Paul, who beat Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (4), 6-3 to become the fourth American in the Open Era to reach back-to-back semifinals in Rome after Eddie Dibbs (1978-79), Jim Courier (1992-93) and Pete Sampras (1993-94).

"It's as if he hasn't been away for any time," Paul said of Sinner. "Certainly, he doesn't seem rusty at all. Already in his first match, he showed a good level and it seems like he keeps improving. His great virtue is not only hitting the ball harder and more consistently than others, but he is capable of generating a lot of power out of nowhere. He is the best hitter on the circuit, and there is no doubt he deserves to be the world No. 1."

(With inputs from The Associated Press)