“I play until the match is finished” – late sessions no problem for Jannik Sinner

With the Australian Open day session overrunning thanks to lengthy matches between Coco Gauff and Marta Kostyuk then Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz, and then the quarter-final between Aryna Sabalenka and Barbora Krejcikova ahead of him in the night-session schedule, Jannik Sinner had to wait around before he could walk on to Rod Laver Arena with Andrey Rublev.

Still, he wrapped up his straight-sets win shortly before 1.20am on Wednesday morning, and in his post-match press conference he said he had no issues with the late starts – or late finishes.

“I play until the match is finished,” he smiled. “As I said on court, you play quarters of a Grand Slam, if doesn’t really matter the time. In my mind I knew if I win I have two days off, which even if you potentially finish very late, you can recover. But in this moment, you don’t watch the clock!

“I knew before going on the court that for European time was a good time to watch also, so this for sure was important. Obviously you watch around in the stadium it was actually quite full for that time, but in your mind you know also that there are, you know, many people who are watching on TV. So you can feel the support. That’s important.”

Sinner: This is what I practise for

Sinner will certainly need the support as he heads into a semi-final against a man who has reached the last four in Melbourne 11 times previously – top seed Novak Djokovic.

But the 22-year-old is looking forward to the encounter – his first time at this stage of the Australian Open.

“This is what I practise for, no, to play against the best players in the world. Obviously has an incredible record here, so for me it’s a pleasure to play against him, especially in the final stages of the tournament where things are a little bit more interesting.

“I’m looking forward to it, to be honest. It’s gonna be tough. This, I know. I will control the controllable, which is giving 100%, having the right attitude, fighting for every ball. And then we see the outcome, no? More than this, I cannot do. Doesn’t really matter who my opponent is.

“So I’m really looking forward to it and trying to prepare [for] it in the best possible way.”

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