Jannik Sinner recovered from a weak start, winning in straight sets against American Tommy Paul and reached the quarter-finals of the tournament on Monday US Openan instance in which it will be measured against Daniil Medvedev in a duel between two of the main candidates to win the tournament and in a repeat of the Australian Open final.
Italian Sinner, number one in the ATP rankings, and Russian Medvedev, champion of the US Open in 2021, are the only Grand Slam tournament winners still alive in Flushing Meadows after the early eliminations of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
The Italian star He rowed for almost three hours before declaring victory minutes before dawn by 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5) and 6-1. As the match progressed, many chants of “USA!” or “Go, Tommy! Go!” could be heard.
There were also several moments when spectators applauded after Sinner’s fouls, considered bad manners in tennis, prompting repeated warnings from the chair umpire, who asked that no noise be made between the first and second serves.
Sinner raised a disadvantage 4-1 to take the first set in the tiebreak. The second set was also decided in the tiebreak and in the third the local player could do little in the face of an almost impossible mission.
Jannik Sinner greets Tommy Paul at the net after eliminating him in the round of 16 of the US Open. Photo EFE/EPA/John G. Mabanglo
The world number one landed in New York surrounded by a huge controversy due to his double positive test for clostridium in March, of which he was acquitted a week before the US Open because it was determined that the contamination was involuntary.
Now, it is found Three games away from being crowned champion for the first time in Flushing Meadowsfor which he needs to get rid of a Medvedev who is in great form. “It will be a tough match. There will be a lot of exchanges and I will have to be mentally and physically ready, it will be a great match,” predicted Sinner.
Hours earlier, Medvedev, ranked number five in the world, swept aside Portuguese Nuno Borges with a resounding 6-0, 6-1 and 6-3 and qualified for the quarterfinals of the US Open for the fifth time in the last six years.
The 2021 champion, who denied Serbian Novak Djokovic his four ‘big’ titles, needed just one hour and 51 minutes to impose his rule on Borges, who was reaching this stage of a ‘Grand Slam’ for the first time in his career.
Sinner claimed his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, defeating Medvedev in five sets in the final after losing the first two sets. The two men also met in the Wimbledon quarter-finals in July, although it was the Russian who came out on top.
With information from agencies.
