Top seed Jannik Sinner set up a thrilling quarter-final showdown against Daniil Medvedev, after battling past American hopeful Tommy Paul in the fourth round of the US Open.
The world number one Jannik Sinner hasn’t had the easiest time on the ATP tour lately.
While he’s maintained superb form on court, he was forced to come from two breaks down in the first set to force a tiebreak.
Helped by some magnificent shot-making, Sinner marched past American number two, Tommy Paul 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-1.
With his next outing against Daniil Medvedev a re-run of their Australian Open final contest in January, Sinner has reached at least the quarter-finals at all four majors this season.
Jannik Sinner reflects on ‘difficult’ fourth round win over Tommy Paul
The world number one has been forced to deal with all manner of difficult circumstances recently, with Sinner’s escaped drugs ban causing a considerable stir among the likes of Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov.
However with things running smoothly on court, Sinner was open about the challenging weather conditions, as well as the pressure of facing a home favorite.
“It’s different than the day sessions but it was nice to be part of this match,” he said in his press conference.
“Playing against an American on this court is difficult. Night session gives it a bit more atmosphere and I just, in my mind, thought it was nice to be part of it.
“We both tried to make a good match, they came to see a good match, today we both made a lot of mistakes sometimes but it was a bit windy and breezy. It was difficult to play.”
Sinner responded to the defeats of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic recently, with his rivals having both fallen early and in doing so, opening up the draw.
Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev’s meeting is fit for the US Open final
Last year’s finalist Medevdev is on a roll at Flushing, with the Russian steamrolling past Nuno Borges in the fourth round within two hours.
Besides Alexander Zverev, no other player remaining in the draw has ever reached a grand slam final, with Sinner and Medvedev both previous major champions.
With Medvedev getting one over the Italian at Wimbledon in five sets, his Australian Open final loss also came in an agonizing five sets, with Sinner coming back from two down to win.
Having played each other 12 times, Sinner has won five of their last six matches despite the Russian leading the tie overall 7-5.
Set to be a blockbuster, whoever wins this one will be best placed to take the title.
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