US Open: Jannik Sinner wins extremely strange quarterfinal

Big surprise from Draper
Sinner wins extremely strange quarterfinal at the US Open

05.09.2024, 06:35

Jannik Sinner confirmed his status as favorite in New York. He defeated the last remaining ex-champion – with an inconsistent performance. The 22-year-old Italian will now face his good friend Jack Draper from Great Britain, who is the same age as him.

Jannik Sinner has reached the semi-finals of the US Open in what was at times a wild up and down, confirming his status as favourite. The Italian tennis world number one defeated the previous winner Daniil Medvedev with an inconsistent performance 6:2, 1:6, 6:1, 6:4. Such a strange result rarely occurs in a duel between two absolute top players.

Sinner will now face his good friend Jack Draper from Great Britain in New York on Friday. After defeating the Australian Alex de Minaur, the world number 25 is surprisingly among the top four in a Grand Slam for the first time in his career and has not lost a set yet. The other semi-final will be contested by the Americans Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz, who defeated Alexander Zverev.

Last remaining US Open winner out

Medvedev, winner of 2021, was the last remaining former title winner to fail. After the early exit of Novak Djokovic from Serbia and the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner had the best chance of winning his second Grand Slam title. He is under special public scrutiny after being acquitted shortly before the tournament following two positive doping tests in the spring.

“It was very difficult, we’ve already played against each other in Australia and London,” said Sinner about the duel with Medvedev. “Everyone who managed the break first pulled away. I’m very happy.” Sinner won the final of this year’s Australian Open against Medvedev in five sets. The Russian also managed to take revenge in the Wimbledon quarterfinals over the entire distance.

After just 34 minutes, Sinner won the first set, Medvedev made it too easy for his opponent with 15 minor errors. But Sinner became more confident, set the pace in long rallies and was also successful with drop shots. But Medvedev won the second set with ease, and Sinner won the third set without much resistance. It was only in the fourth set that the match between the remaining players, who are the highest seeded, kept what it had promised beforehand. One spectacular point followed the next, both had to fight hard for their service games. Sinner managed to break at 4:3, Medvedev was unnerved and beaten a short time later.

Draper lives his dream

Now Draper is waiting for Sünder. He won comfortably against de Minaur with 6:3, 7:5, 6:2. This means that Draper has not lost a set in the entire tournament. His best Grand Slam result to date was last year when he reached the round of 16 at the US Open. “It’s great. Playing on the biggest court in the world for the first time is a dream for me,” said Draper in Arthur Ashe Stadium and was modest: “I played a solid match.” In the previous matches at this US Open, Draper had always been the favorite – but now he gave the slightly higher-rated de Minaur no chance. In the last three direct duels, the Australian had prevailed in each case.

Meanwhile, Iga Świątek’s journey is also over. The top favorite lay on her back in her dress with tears in her eyes and could hardly believe her quarter-final exit at the US Open. The world number one from Poland suffered a surprisingly clear defeat against Jessica Pegula in 88 minutes with 2:6, 4:6. “It wasn’t a good performance from me today,” admitted the 23-year-old 2022 winner. “I really don’t understand why my serve didn’t work. I didn’t find a solution for it.”

In front of gymnastics superstar Simone Biles, who was sitting in the VIP box, Pegula fueled the hopes of US tennis fans for a home victory and reached a Grand Slam semifinal for the first time in her career. “I finally did it and can finally say: semifinalist,” said Pegula. She had previously lost six times in the quarterfinals of one of the four major tournaments. “I’m so happy that after this you can no longer ask whether I’ll make it to the semifinals.” The New York native will now face Czech Karolína Muchová, who has also not dropped a set in the tournament so far. “She is so good, talented. She has a lot of experience, and I have to show my best tennis,” said Pegula.