NEW YORK. A champion’s victory. Jannik Sinner beats Daniil Medvedev for the sixth time in 13 direct confrontations. He closes 6-2 1-6 6-1 6-4, redeems the defeat at Wimbledon in 2024 and reaches the fourth Slam semifinal of his career. In Italian tennis, in men’s singles, only Nicola Pietrangeli has played more.
Sinner, the player with the most Slam wins in 2024 (21), becomes the third Italian to reach the semifinals at the US Open after Corrado Barazzutti in 1977 and Matteo Berrettini in 2019. He is also the first player born after 1988 with at least one semifinal in all Slams.
Among active tennis players, only Novak Djokovic (11 semifinali all’Australian Open, 12 al Roland Garros, 13 a Wimbledon, 13 allo US Open), Rafael Nadal (7 all’Australian Open, 15 al Roland Garros, 8 a Wimbledon, 8 allo US Open) e Marin Cilic (2 at the Australian Open, 1 at Roland Garros, 1 at Wimbledon, 2 at the US Open). All this is a testament to the greatness of a player who now, given the opponents still in the running, is more than ever the big favorite of the New York tournament.
In the semi-final Jannik will face his friend and doubles partner Jack Draper (first British player since 2012 to reach the US Open semi-final) and then, in the eventual final, one of the two Americans Taylor Fritz (world No. 12) and Francis Tiafoe (n. 20). One might think that in the eventual final Sinner will have the crowd’s support as a counter factor, encouraging the home player, but given how he is playing at Flushing Meadows the prediction is in his favor.
Meanwhile, in front of excellent supporters such as Simone Biles, Dwayne Wade and Seal, there was this beautiful victory over an opponent of the calibre of Medvedev, already beaten at the Australian Open. Sinner’s skill aside, the Russian was able to play his best tennis only in the second set, won 6-1, with 15 points out of 23 exchanges concluded over nine shots in the first two sets. But it certainly wasn’t enough to make the match his own, given that the world no. 1 then turned the situation around, annihilating his rival.
“It was a very tough match – Sinner’s analysis after the match -. Obviously, knowing each other well, we knew what to expect. It was a very tactical match, I managed to change the balance very well and this was the key to winning. There are always many episodes when you play a match 3 sets out of 5 with him; you have to change the tactics often and, when he starts not making mistakes anymore, you have to find a solution. Everything revolves around small details and I’m happy with how I managed the situations. It was a high-quality match from both of us”.
Of the four NY semifinalists, Jannik Sinner is the one with the most experience, and the only one to already have a Major in his collection: “But I don’t consider myself the favorite – he says firmly -, all those who are in the quarterfinals and semifinals of these tournaments deserve to be there. No victory can be taken for granted and when you face a player you always have to be careful and find solutions. From now on, the matches will give different sensations, I’m just luckier to have already had these experiences. Regardless of what will happen in the next few days, I’m very satisfied with my season; it’s been very consistent and I’ve made many quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. For me this is the thing that matters most, it means that I’m growing and that I’m working well. Three years ago I was in the eighths and some quarterfinals, then I added some semis, this year I made another small step forward. I’ve made important progress and this is what I’m working for”.
2024-09-05 12:06:32