Sinner sinks Medvedev, books US Open semifinal spot

New York, US, Sep 4 (EFE).- World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev at the US Open on Wednesday, emerging as the clear favorite for this year’s title in New York.

With Novak Djokovic (World No. 2), Carlos Alcaraz (No. 3), and Alexander Zverev (No. 4) already out of the tournament, the quarterfinal clash between the Italian and the Russian (No. 5) had the feel of an early final. Sinner sealed the victory, 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, in two hours and 39 minutes.

Sinner also became the fourth active player to reach the semifinals of all four Grand Slam events, joining Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Marin Cilic.

The Italian, who began the tournament amid controversy over his unsanctioned positive test at Indian Wells, will face Britain’s Jack Draper (No. 25) in the semifinal.

Draper convincingly defeated Australia’s Alex de Minaur (No. 10) 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 in two hours and seven minutes.

While Sinner is the favorite to reach the final, Draper won their only previous meeting at Queen’s in 2021 and has yet to drop a set at this year’s US Open.

The match between Sinner and Medvedev at Arthur Ashe Stadium looked like a replay of the Australian Open final earlier this year, where Sinner won his first and only Grand Slam title.

Medvedev, however, gained swift revenge by eliminating Sinner in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

The two are familiar rivals. Earlier, they had faced each other 12 times, with Medvedev leading 7-5 (now 7-6).

Their 2023 encounters were especially intense, featuring four finals — two won by Medvedev (Rotterdam and Miami) and two by Sinner (Beijing and Vienna).

Wednesday’s match was a see-saw battle with no middle ground. Sinner dominated the first set (6-2), Medvedev responded fiercely (1-6), and Sinner countered again with authority (6-1).

Only in the fourth set did the contest balance, with Sinner fending off two of Medvedev’s break points at 2-3 and then breaking his opponent’s serve to go up 4-3.

He ultimately served out the match to eliminate the 2021 champion and qualify for his first US Open semifinal.

Key to the victory was the disparity in unforced errors, with Medvedev tallying 57 compared to Sinner’s 38.

The other US Open finalist will come from the match between Americans Frances Tiafoe (No. 20) and Taylor Fritz (No. 12), who both secured their spots in the semifinals on Tuesday.

Women’s Draw In the women’s draw, American Jessica Pegula claimed an impressive victory on Wednesday, defeating Polish world No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 in just one hour and 28 minutes.

Pegula (No. 6) will face Czech Karolina Muchova (No. 52), who knocked out Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia (No. 21) 6-1, 6-4, for a place in the final.

The two have met only once before, in the second round of the WTA 1,000 in Cincinnati less than a month ago, where Pegula prevailed.

The other women’s semifinal, set on Tuesday, will see American Emma Navarro (No. 12) take on Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka (No. 2).

This round of quarterfinals has been historic for American tennis, with all four of its representatives advancing to the semifinals: Tiafoe, Fritz, Pegula, and Navarro.

It’s the first time since 2003 at the US Open that four American players have reached the semifinals of a Grand Slam. EFE

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