NEW YORK – World No. 1 Jannik Sinner reached the semifinals of the U.S. Open for the first time by defeating 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday night.
Sinner, who took over as the favourite for the title after Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz were eliminated in the first week, is the only man left in the field with a Grand Slam title. He won his first Australian Open title in January, beating Medvedev in the final in five sets after losing the first two.
This was an unusual match as they alternated set after set. First, Sinner was on top. Then Medvedev took over. Then Sinner regained the upper hand in the third set. In the fourth set, at 3-3, Sinner rallied and saved two break points, then broke Medvedev’s serve to lead 5-3.
Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy who was cleared in a doping case less than a week before the start of the US Open after testing positive twice for trace amounts of the steroid in March, will face 25th seed Jack Draper of Britain on Friday for a place in the title match. Draper won the only meeting between the two at Queen’s Club in 2021.
He is the third Italian man to reach the US Open semi-finals since the Open era began in 1968, joining Corrado Barazzotti (1977) and Matteo Berrettini (2019). He also became the fourth-youngest man in the Open era to reach the semi-finals at all four Grand Slams, behind only Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Jim Courier.
The other semifinal that day will be between No. 12 Taylor Fritz and No. 20 Frances Tiafoe in the first meeting between American men at this stage of a Grand Slam in 19 years.
This report uses information from ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press.
