Jannik Sinner unlocks ‘tactical keys’ to beat Daniil Medvedev
Jannik Sinner has knocked out the only remaining former US Open champion in the men’s singles draw, beating Daniil Medvedev to progress to the semi-finals.
Sinner beat the 2021 US Open champion, 6-2 1-6 6-1 6-4, in two hours and 41 minutes on Arthur Ashe Stadium last night.
This was a rematch of the Australian Open final earlier this year, with Sinner continuing his recent success on hard courts against Medvedev after winning their last six meetings on the surface.
When reflecting on the match, Sinner spoke about what the key to getting the victory was, “It was a tough match, but I’m happy to be in the next round. Obviously, we know each other quite well, so it’s always a tough match. There were a lot of tactical keys, although the early break in the first and third sets helped me a lot for confidence, especially after what happened in the second set.”
The World No.1 continued, “Staying there throughout also helped me a lot after not taking advantage of so many break points. I’m happy with how I handled the situation, it’s very tough to face him, I think it was a great match on both sides. The fourth set was the toughest, with a different scoreline, all things considered I would say I’m leaving happy.”
23, 19 – Since 1990, Jannik Sinner (23y 19d) is now the second-youngest player to reach the SF at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, Miami and the US Open in a calendar year, after Rafael Nadal (22y 93d) in 2008. Stellar.#USOpen | @usopen @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/Ey9YXfniro
— OptaAce (@OptaAce) September 5, 2024
As a result of Medvedev’s exit from the tournament, there is now guaranteed to be a new US Open champion with Sinner and Jack Draper, as well as American’s Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe remaining.
Sinner will play British hopeful Draper in his semi-final, with the pair also recently competing in doubles together at the Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal.
The Italian was asked about his upcoming opponent in the post-match press conference, with Sinner hoping to use his experience at this stage of Grand Slams.
“Anyone who is in the semi-finals or quarter-finals deserves to be there, here you don’t give away any wins, you always have to find a solution against every opponent,” explained Sinner. “That’s what I try to do in my case. Now the matches are a bit different, although the feelings before a semi-final are not that different.
“I’m lucky to have played with those kinds of feelings before, but we’ll see, it will be interesting to see. I’m happy to be in this position, trying to play great tennis, but Jack has been playing amazing tennis as well. Maybe he’s playing his best tennis ever, so it will be very tough.”
He added, “We know each other quite well, it will be interesting on Friday. I don’t remember if we played each other as juniors, but I’m sure I saw him play, although we weren’t friends yet, it was after playing at Queen’s. It will be a very tough match, he hasn’t lost a set yet and he’s been playing very well, serving very well and hitting very hard. I’m looking forward to it, I hope it’s a great match.”
The US Open will have a first-time champion in men’s and women’s singles.
— US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 5, 2024
Despite Sinner being the favourite for their upcoming match, it was actually Draper who won their only previous meeting on the ATP Tour at Queen’s Club in 2021.
Inside the baseline…
Coming into the match between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev, many people were understandably labelling it almost a 50/50, but the Italian was actually quite convincing in the end. There was also a sense that the winner of this match would go onto win the title, so it will be interesting to see if Sinner can handle this pressure as well as he has handled the backlash upon the announcement of his failed anti-doping tests. Despite Sinner being the overwhelming favourite to beat Jack Draper, the Brit will be coming into the match with heaps of confidence after winning 15 consecutive sets in New York.
READ MORE – Jack Draper: I knew that my time would come
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