On Monday night at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Jannik Sinner defeated Tommy Paul 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-1 to go to the US Open quarterfinals.
After coming back from two breaks behind in the first set, the Italian world No. 1 has won eight matches in a row and reached the quarterfinals at the US Open for the first time since 2022.
Sinner, 23, became the eighth men’s singles player since 2000 to reach the quarterfinals in all four grand slams.
“I felt like we both didn’t play our best tennis,” Sinner remarked after defeating No. 14 seed Paul on the court.We attempted to find our rhythm because it was windy and breezy. Late in the match, I found it, but I’m proud today. It was a tough opponent, but I’m glad to advance.”
Sinner will face No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, in a thriller quarterfinal in New York after Medvedev overcame Nuno Borges 6-0, 6-1, 6-3.
Sinner and Medvedev are the only major champions left in the men’s singles tournament, making Wednesday’s showdown feel like a final.
“Tough match. It’s going to be a lot of rallies, so hopefully I’ll be ready physically,” Sinner stated in court regarding fighting the Russian. “It will be physical and mental.”
Medvedev has a 7-5 career record against Sinner. Sinner has won five of the last six, including his maiden major slam triumph at the Australian Open in January after coming back from two sets to love down.
Medvedev won their last match, a Wimbledon semifinal five-setter in July.
Medvedev smiled and told media before Sinner’s night match with Paul, “I will try to think more about Wimbledon than Australian Open.”
“We had some tough matches against Jannik, except for a few. I feel like we know our game, what we’ll bring to the table, and then it’s always this moment’s deuce, break point, whether to surprise him or not, what he will do, what I will do.
“Hopefully, if he beats Tommy, we can have a great match. I had to be amazing to defeat him, which I did a few times. A tremendous contest is coming.”
Sinner played in a US Open quarterfinal that ended later than ever before. In 2022, the Italian had a fourth-set match point against Carlos Alcaraz. Alcaraz won 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3 in a five-hour, 15-minute marathon that ended at 2:50 a.m. ET. At 19, the Spaniard won his first grand slam.
Sinner overcomes two breakdowns
Paul pushed Sinner early Monday night.
The 27-year-old American broke Sinner 13 minutes into the match and won 11 games in a row to take a 4-1 lead in the first set.
The 2024 Australian Open winner rallied from two breaks behind, winning 12 of the next 14 points and four games in a row before pulling away from Paul in the first-set tiebreak.
The second set was tighter, with Paul saving the only break point. Sinner won the tiebreaker again.
The world No. 1 broke Paul in the second game of the third set with a crosscourt forehand winner Sinner shot high beyond the baseline.
“I don’t think he played very well to start the match, and then once I got up 4-1, I don’t think I started playing very well,” Paul told reporters. I had chances in the first and second sets, but he took the key points. I thought that was the match’s story.”
In men’s singles action on Monday, Jack Draper of Great Britain reached his first major quarterfinal by defeating Czech Tomáš Macháč 6-3, 6-1, 6-2. He hasn’t lost a tournament set.
The No. 10 Australian Alex de Minaur defeated Jordan Thompson 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in his first tournament after Wimbledon.
Rafael Nadal supports Sinner’s bid despite his recent doping scandal, which shook the tennis world on August 20. Sinner, who evaded suspension despite twice testing positive for minuscule levels of a banned drug, denies wrongdoing.
Rafael Nadal recently embraced Sinner, saying “El Hormiguero”: “I have a virtue or a flaw, which is that in the end, I usually believe in the good faith of people.
“I know Sinner. Sinner was not doping, in my opinion. In the end, justice is justice, and we shouldn’t only like it when it’s resolved our way.
“Ultimately, justice is justice, and I believe in the bodies that make decisions and that they do so based on what they believe is right.
I hope he wasn’t sanctioned because the judges plainly found no wrongdoing. They saw clearly that what was provided was unacceptable.
I don’t think they wouldn’t censure Sinner or someone else because of their name. I’m sure of it. Of course, others’ ideas are respected, but this is mine.”