ATP
Sinner grinds down Djokovic to reach Paris final
Jannik Sinner secured a win which exploded in the closing stages on Friday as he defeated Novak Djokovic for the fourth straight time to book a place in the French Open final.
Early on, the Italian world No. 1 kept the drama to a minimum as he began methodically moving towards what ended as a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6 (3) semi-final defeat of the three-time Roland Garros winner and 25-time Grand Slam singles champion.
But the action heated up late in the third set, with Sinner saving three Djokovic set points in a 12-minutes game punctuated by a linecall argument from the Serb.
Sinner eventually prevailed, holding for 5-all and concluding his evening’s work in a tiebreaker on his third match point as a Djokovic return hit the net after three and a quarter hours.
Sinner has reached the title match without the loss of a set as he worked to defeat the 38-year-old Serb legend.
“This was such a special occasion for me, playing Novak in a Grand Slam semi-final,” the Italian said. “I had to step up and play the best tennis that I could.
“Novak is a role model for all us young players, I’m happy how I handled the situation.
“What he is doing is incredible. We are lucky to see him playing such high-level tennis. Playing him here is amazing, but I tried not to think about that (his reputation).
“Before coming onto court you feel the tension and what is coming.”
Sinner, winner of the last two Grand Slams in New York and Melbourne, will play for his third title at a major on Sunday against Carlos Alcaraz after the Spanish second seed advanced when Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti retired injured in the fourth set,
The Sinner match moved at a leisurely pace, with the first two sets taking two hours to complete.
Sinner avoided a rare tight spot as he lost serve in the 10th game of the second set but broke straight back before taking a two-set-to-one lead moments lateras Djokovic was massaged on his upper right thigh.
Alcaraz and Sinner have been playing since 2021, with the Spaniard winning their last four matches dating to March, 2024.
“My head to head against Carlos doesn’t look very good,” Sinner said. “But I’m happy to be in the final; we will see what we can do.
“These are very rare and special moments in my career, I try to enjoy them.”
Losing semi-finalist Musetti said he will need to have further examinations to pinpoint the exact problem with his left leg which forced his retirement against Alcaraz.
“I’m honestly sad and disappointed on how it ended, but still a great match so far (as it went” the Italian said.
“I felt it at the beginning of the third when I was serving, I started losing a little bit of strength on the left leg.
“It was definitely going worse and worse, so I decided to stop. I think that was the right decision, even if it was not what I wanted.
“Physically for me it was really intense. At the end I was feeling these kind of problems.
“Tomorrow I will do exams, and I will of course see and evaluate the situation.
He added: “I knew even before stepping on court that I had to play probably the best match of my career.
“For part of it, I was doing a great job, I would say.. I was there physically, technically, mentally. I think I was playing right.”
Main photo:- Jannik Sinner celebrates semi-final win – by Roger Parker ISF Ltd
Two-time champion Casper Ruud had to work for more than two and a half hours to overcome Jaime Faria, the Portuguese who put out Stan Wawrinka in the first round at the Gstaad Swiss Open on Thursday.
Faria was riding the momentum from Tuesday’s defeat of three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka, set to retire this season and beaten in an opening match at his home venue.
Faria had his eye on a second upset as he faced Ruud, who lifted the trophy at this elite alpine village in 2021 and 2022.
Ruud ahd to dodge a bullet and mount a comeback to get through the second-round test against the Portuguese.
After dropping the opening set in a tiebreaker, Ruud played patiently as Faria saved five break points in the sixth game of the second set before failing on the sixth.
Ruud then pulled away for a 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2 victory, his first since Roland Garros.
“Sometimes it is hard to say when you get a good feeling and you start to win some games in a row,” the winner said.
“You try from the first game to the last, but suddenly something clicked in the middle of the second for me, luckily.”
He added: “I had to really fight hard and if I played one bad game in the second and he serves well, it could be over and it would be time to go home. But luckily I can extend the stay.”
The Scandinavian could join Spaniards Sergi Bruguera and Alex Corretja as three-time winners in the Alps, with Ruud now standing 10-1 here over his career.
Stefanost Tsitsipas said he slept soundly prior to finishing off a darkness-interrupted match on Thursday as he eliminated local Jerome Kym at the Gstaad Swiss Open.
The Greek who once cracked third in the world and the 186th-ranked Swiss returned to the clay after darkness on Wednesday night left them hanging at 5-all in the third set.
Tsitsipas revved up his game from the resumption to emerge into the quarter-finals 6-4, 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5).
The second seed now standing 85th in the world after several poor seasons and a split with his father as his coach, said getting his rest was not a problem after the interruption.
“It was strange going to bed and not being finished. I visualised what I wanted to do, my shot patterns.
“It worked out pretty well.
“I had a good night’s sleep, I was not too stressed and I recovered to get ready for the continuation.”
After saving break points in the first game on Thursday, Tsitsipas triumphed in the final-set tiebreaker
“I’m relieved I was able to save a couple of break points.. I put my game together and made it )victory) happen again.”
The Greek now faces off against Frenchman Arthur Rinderknech for a semi-final spot.
“I’m expecting a lot of big serves, the altitude (1050m) helps. I’ll try to build consistency around my own serve.”
Stefanos Tsitsipas was handed a reprieve due to fading light with his second round match at the Swiss Open Gstaad stopped with the Greek deadlocked with local Jerome Kym 6-4, 6-7 (2), 5-5.
The math had to be halted as night fell and electronic linecalling computers could not read the path of the ball on the clay in contrast to humans who could have carried on for a few additional minutes..
The 27-year-old Tsitsipas was taking the worst of it in the concluding stage after a promising start.against a journeyman opponent ranked 186.
Tsitsipas, his ranking down to 85th after once standing third in the world, lashed out verbally in the last few games, apparently frustrated with his racquet reactions.
The Greek was quick to make his point of an overnight stoppage to the chair umpire while Kym – who reached 5-all with a love service hold – left the court with a defiant fist pump for his public in this alpine resort village.
The cutoff came after just over two hours of play, with the contest to be concluded on Thursday. The winner reaches the Friday quarter-finals.
Tsitsipas produced his last notable result in April with a fourth-round showing at the Madrid Masters,
He is aiming for his second quarter-final of the season after Doha in February and his 2025 Barcelona 15 months ago.
Tsitsipas stands 10-1 vs. players ranked outside the top 100 this season with a sole loss to No. 104 Italian Matteo Arnaldi at the Roland Garros second round.
History repeats for Argentine spoiler in Gstaad
Ruud survives a scare to secure Gstaad quarters
Tsitsipas finishes off Kym after overnight pause
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