Sinner cements status as US Open favourite with semi-final win over Medvedev

Jannik Sinner joined Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Jack Draper in the US Open semi-finals with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday night.

Following a roller-coaster first two sets, Sinner took control to set up a Friday showdown against Draper. The world No 1 advanced after two hours and 39 minutes.

Sinner and Medvedev had played five-setters against each other twice already this year. The Italian came back from two sets down to win the Australian Open final before the Russian got some revenge in the Wimbledon quarters. This one briefly had the makings of a five-setter when Medvedev earned two break points with his opponent serving at 2-3 in the fourth, but he could not convert. Sinner broke serve in the very next game to all but end the match.

“It was very tough,” the 22-year-old said during his on-court interview. “We know each other quite well. We played in Australia this year and then London. We knew it was going to be very physical. It was strange the first two sets, because whoever made the first break then started to roll.”

It was Sinner who rolled more often than not — often rolling right into the net, too. The top seed ventured into the forecourt 33 times, winning 28 of those points. Applying such pressure is part of the reason why Medvedev sprayed an uncharacteristic 57 unforced errors.

“We tried to work really hard on this aspect of the game,” Sinner explained. “I know I can improve a lot, especially going to the net. I tried to serve-and-volley a couple of times, trying to mix something in. I’m very happy with how I’ve done it today and let’s see how I can handle the next opponent.”

That next opponent will be Draper on Friday. The British left-hander won their only previous meeting in a pair of tiebreaks at Queen’s Club in 2021.

Fast forward three years and Sinner is an overwhelming favourite to defeat Draper this time. The Italian would also be a massive favourite against either Fritz or Tiafoe in the final. Draper advanced out of a quarter of the draw that was home to Carlos Alcaraz, who lost to Botic van de Zandschulp in the second round. Tiafoe was in Novak Djokovic’s section, but the 37-year-old Serb fell to Alexei Popyrtin in the third round.

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