Italian world number one Jannik Sinner overcame Tommy Paul (14th) to secure a 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 victory and qualify for the quarter-finals of the US Open tennis tournament on Monday in New York.
Sinner will face Russian Daniil Medvedev, winner of the tournament in 2021, in the quarter-finals, a clash between two big favorites for the title, especially since the eliminations of Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. Sinner, winner of the Australian Open in January, has never done better than a quarter-final at Flushing Meadows (2022).
Facing the American Tommy Paul, the Italian knew how to deal with the grinta of a player pushed by his public on the immense Arthur-Ashe court (nearly 24,000 spectators), the two offering a great show. More accustomed to the summits of tennis despite his young age (23 years old), Sinner managed the tie-breaks of the first two sets like a boss, before breaking at the start of the 3rd set with a sublime passing shot at the end of the race.
“Mentally I didn’t start very well in the first set (two breaks behind) but I stayed in the game. There were some ups and downs but I found my rhythm at the end of the game.”commented Sinner. The Italian had started the tournament with a controversy following the revelation of his whitewashing 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 the status of the players.
