US Open: Sinner passes nerve test – Swiatek also advances

Top favorite Jannik Sinner held his nerve to pass the first real test at the US Open and reached the quarterfinals. Iga Swiatek also prevailed.

Sinner, the world’s number one player, defeated the American Tommy Paul 7:6 (7:3), 7:6 (7:5), 6:1 and remained calm even in the heated evening atmosphere in New York. Sinner is the only male tennis professional to make it into at least the top eight in all four Grand Slam tournaments of the year and will now face former US Open winner Daniil Medvedev from Russia. “It will be a difficult match. I hope I will be physically and mentally ready,” said the Italian.

Paul with a better start, Sinner dominated in the end

Paul got off to a brilliant start, but Sinner was having a hard time at the beginning. The South Tyrolean made some unusual mistakes. At times Paul won eleven points in the series and was quickly 4:1 ahead. The crowd cheered on their favorite with chants of “USA, USA”. The 23-year-old Sinner stayed cool and quickly managed two re-breaks. It was a close match. In the tie-breaks of the first two sets, the Australian Open winner Sinner showed his class and ultimately dominated the third set.

After the elimination of the two favorites Carlos Alcaraz from Spain and Novak Djokovic from Serbia, Sinner is the hottest contender for the title ahead of Medvedev and Alexander Zverev. He is under special public scrutiny following his acquittal shortly before the tournament following two positive doping tests in the spring. Medvedev gave the Portuguese Nuno Borges no chance in his 6:0, 6:1, 6:3 victory in less than two hours of play.

Previously, the young Briton Jack Draper had already reached the quarter-finals of a SignificantThe 22-year-old defeated Czech Tomas Machac comfortably 6:3, 6:1, 6:2 and will now face Australian Alex de Minaur or fellow countryman Jordan Thompson.

Swiatek confidently continues

The top seeded player, Iga Swiatek, also prevailed in the women’s singles. The 23-year-old Pole won 6:4, 6:1 against Russian Lyudmila Samsonova in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, Swiatek will face sixth seeded American Jessica Pegula, who won comfortably 6:4, 6:2 against Russian Diana Schnaider.

Swiatek was in top form for her second US Open title. She remained flawless on her own serve and did not allow her opponents a break point. At 5:4 in the first set, she took Samsonowa’s serve for the first time. After 1:30 hours, Swiatek converted the match point. “At the beginning of the tournament, it was not easy to find my rhythm. But it feels like I am getting better every day,” said the 2022 title winner after the win.

Pegula in the quarterfinals

World number six Jessica Pegula from the USA prevailed and advanced to the quarterfinals of new York There, the world number one Iga Swiatek (Poland) or the Russian Lyudmila Samsonova will be waiting for the 30-year-old.

Wozniacki loses

Former Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki (34), on the other hand, was eliminated after a great fight. The Dane, who made her comeback before the US Open 2023 after a long maternity leave, lost to Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia in the Louis Armstrong Stadium with 2:6, 6:3, 3:6.

In addition, the Czech Karolina Muchova had a strong performance French Open– and Wimbledon-finalist Jasmine Paolini (Italy). Muchova, who won the Flushing Meadows He had reached the semifinals and then had to take a ten-month break due to injury, but he won 6:3, 6:3.

Fire alarm in the video center

A fire alarm caused all tennis matches to be temporarily interrupted. The building, which also houses the electronic line monitoring system, has been evacuated, the organizers said.

Since it was only an alarm, play resumed in the afternoon after about six minutes. The electronic system automatically detects whether a ball is out or in the field.