NEW YORK (AP) – Top-ranked Jannik Sinner used an aggressive, net-rushing style to reach the United States (US) Open semi-finals for the first time by getting past 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday night.
Sinner – a 23-year-old from Italy who was cleared in a doping case less than a week before the US Open started after testing positive twice for trace amounts of an anabolic steroid in March – will go up against number 25 Jack Draper of Britain on Friday for a berth in the title match.
After Week 1 exits by Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner took over as the title favourite and now is the only man remaining in the field with a Grand Slam trophy. He won his first at the Australian Open in January by beating Medvedev in the final in five sets after dropping the first two.
As reflected by the accurate-as-can-be score, this matchup was unusually topsy-turvy as they took turns dominating a set at a time.
First, it was Sinner who was superior. Then that role was played Medvedev, the runner-up at Flushing Meadows to Djokovic last year and to Rafael Nadal in 2019. Then Sinner regained the upper hand in the third. In the fourth, from three-all, Sinner surged, saving a pair of break points, then breaking Medvedev to lead 5-3.
“We know each other quite well. We knew it was going to be very physical,” said Sinner, who lost to Medvedev in five sets at Wimbledon in July. “It was strange the first two sets, because whoever made the first break then started to roll.”
The key: Sinner won the point on 28 of his 33 trips to the net, including nine of 11 on serve-and-volley approaches. “We tried to work really hard on this aspect of the game,” Sinner said. “Trying just to mix up the game.”
Medvedev was particularly uneven. He only had one fewer winner than Sinner but finished with 19 more unforced errors.
of the US Open tennis championships in New York, United States PHOTO: AP
