The Italian Jannik Sinnernumber one in men’s tennis, beat the British promise this Friday Jack Draper and advanced to his first US Open final. The Italian, who overcame a sprained left wrist in the second set, won by 7-5, 7-6 (7-3) y 6-2 Draper, who also finished the match with visible physical problems.
Sinner, the first Italian in a US Open men’s final, will seek his second Grand Slam title against the American Taylor FritzWith an agonizing comeback, he won the battle between Americans on Frances Tiafoe and will be the first local tennis player in the men’s final at the National Tennis Center since Andy Roddick in 2006.
Taylor Fritz battled through five sets to overcome compatriot Frances Tiafoe and is the first American to make it to the US Open final since 2006, when he defeated Andy Roddick. – Credits: @Kirsty Wigglesworth
The Californian player came back from two disadvantages to win by 4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 y 6-1 and reached his first Grand Slam final. A win for Fritz on Sunday would be the first for American men’s tennis at the US Open since 2003, when Roddick himself lifted the trophy.
Sinner, the world number 1, has taken his uncomfortable and controversial situation with fortitude, at least until now and from what can be seen in New York, after being acquitted after two positive doping tests carried out in March and recently published. The Italian player, first seeded in the US Openthe last Grand Slam competition of the season, seems not to be affected by all the noise generated by his case and, on the court, he is voracious and inspired.
For Sinner, it is about the tournament after the investigation into his positive tests was uncovered. banned substance clostebol, an anabolic steroid. These results were recorded last March and were kept secret while Sinner was allowed to continue competingwhich raised harsh criticism from other players.
“These have been very tough months. From the very beginning we started working to explain in detail where the substance for which I tested positive came from and we were clear that we could prove my innocence. Errors of this type can happeneven if they are serious and infrequent, but the important thing was to have a clear way of explaining that result and the fact that the amount of clostebol found was so minimal,” the Italian declared days ago to ESPN, where he shared his concern about an alleged preferential treatment in his case.
It was a difficult five months for Sinner, who played with his mind set on the verdict in the trial in which he sought to prove his innocence, proving that the substance accidentally reached his body, which was confirmed by an independent court. “Since I found out that this had happened, I have not been myself on the court. I lost the joy on the court and I forced myself to keep fighting for every ball, but it was difficult to compete like that. I got sick and physical problems started to arise. which stem from the stress I felt from this process,” he said in an intimate interview.
It was a tougher match than expected. “I’m happy to be in the final. Whoever it is, it’s going to be a tough challenge,” said Sinner about Sunday’s match, in which he will try to avoid the first victory of an American since 2003.
Jack Draper, exhausted – Credits: @Julia Nikhinson
Although he will have the world’s largest tennis stadium against him, the Italian will be a clear favourite to win a tournament in which he lost in the first rounds to the other two candidates, Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. On Friday, Sinner’s relentless tennis went from less to more until he got rid of his friend Draper who, at the age of 22was the first British player to reach this stage of Flushing Meadows since Andy Murray’s only triumph in 2012.
Sinner, que He hurt his left wrist Falling on his back on a return, he managed to prevail against a clearly unwell Draper who vomited several times on the court. “Jack and I know each other very well, we are friends off the court,” Sinner recalled. “It was a very physical match. I tried to stay mentally because he is a very difficult opponent to beat.”
In the Grand Slam that he had been most reluctant to host, Sinner was able to isolate himself from the enormous controversy surrounding his double positive test for clostebol in March, from which he was acquitted because it was considered involuntary.
