Italian world number one Jannik Sinner was too strong for Russian Daniil Medvedev in a disappointing clash on Wednesday in New York, and will discover the semi-finals of the US Open tennis tournament on Friday, like his future opponent, Briton Jack Draper.
Polish world number one Iga Swiatek missed her match against Jessica Pegula, which allows the Americans to count half of the semi-finalists of their Grand Slam tournament.
A shock expected since the early eliminations of Carlos Alcaraz (2nd round) and Novak Djokovic (3rd round), the meeting between Sinner and Medvedev, which ended 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, did not reach the heights hoped for.
The Italian strolled through the first round before the Russian, who won at Flushing Meadows in 2021, did the same in the second.
The trend was then reversed for good, with Sinner proving too solid in all areas of the game, justifying his status as world number one.
“It was tough, we know each other well. The first three sets were strange, with quick breaks,” said Sinner, who is now the big favourite for the tournament.
– “Finally” –
This is the third time this season that the two players have faced each other in a Major: Sinner won the Australian Open final, his only Grand Slam title so far, and Medvedev their quarter-final at Wimbledon.
Sinner had started the tournament with controversy following the revelation of his clearing by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after two positive tests in March, with several players denouncing the opacity of the process and the feeling of a two-speed anti-doping justice system depending on their status.
The surprise of the day came from Jessica Pegula, world number 6, who finally broke her glass ceiling after six failures in the quarter-finals of a Major tournament, easily dominating world number 1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4.
“Finally I can say that I am a semi-finalist!” said a relieved Jessica Pegula (30 years old).
Swiatek (23 years old), victorious at Flushing Meadows in 2022 and four times crowned at Roland-Garros, was weighed down by her unforced errors (41 in 18 games played, against 22 for Pegula).
Pegula’s qualification confirms the excellent US Open of the Americans – despite the early elimination of Coco Gauff – who therefore have four semi-finalists: Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe who face each other on Friday, and Emma Navarro, a novice at this level, opposed to the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka on Thursday.
– “Strange match” –
Pegula will face Karolina Muchova (52nd) in the semi-final on Thursday, who beat the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad (21st) 6-1, 6-4.
The Czech’s modest ranking with a varied game, which does not reflect her level, is due to a wrist injury that cost her ten months of competition between the end of 2023 and mid-2024. Last year she had already reached the semi-finals of the tournament for a defeat against Coco Gauff.
“It was a strange match. I had some physical problems that I prefer not to comment on. I managed to get through them by going back and forth to the toilet. Sorry if it was disturbing, but I had no choice,” commented the 28-year-old Czech, casting a shadow over her physical condition as she continues on Thursday.
Jack Draper, ranked 25th in the world, continued his winning ways: he won his first Grand Slam quarter-final, against Australian Alex De Minaur (10th) 6-3, 7-5, 6-2, and will play his first major semi-final.
At 22, he is the fourth Briton to reach the semi-finals of the men’s draw in New York in the Open era (1968) after Greg Rusedski (1997), Tim Henman (2004) and Andy Murray (2008, 2011, 2012).
“It’s the first time I’ve played on the biggest court in the world (the Arthur Ashe, editor’s note) and it’s a dream come true,” commented the Briton, who didn’t seem to have his head in the clouds at all as he imposed his game on De Minaur.
Last year at Flushing Meadows, he reached the round of 16, which was his best Grand Slam result to date.
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