World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, whose doping case was relaunched this weekend, qualified on Monday for the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing by beating Czech Jiri Lehecka (37th) in straight sets 6-2, 7-6 (8/6).
The Italian, defending champion, will face the winner of the last quarter-final between the Russian Andrey Rublev and the Chinese Bu Yunchaokete. The protagonists of the other semi-final are already known: the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz facing another Russian, Daniil Medvedev, finalist last year.
Sinner flew through the first set but had to save two set points in the tie-break of the second, to win without losing a set, unlike his first two meetings in the tournament.
A potential suspension
The 23-year-old, winner of this year’s Australian Open and US Open, faces a potential two-year ban after the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced on Saturday that he had appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in his doping case.
Sinner tested positive for traces of clostebol, a steroid, in March before being cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency in August.
“I had sleepless nights during this period. It won’t be easy again.”confided the player after his match.
“This is a very difficult time for me and for my teamhe added. I always try to remind myself that I didn’t do anything wrong. »
Seeded number 2 behind Jannik Sinner, Alcaraz emerged unscathed from a tense first set to beat Russian Karen Khachanov, seeded number 7, 7-5, 6-2.
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Medvedev, seeded No. 3, for his part easily beat the Italian Flavio Cobolli (6-2, 6-4) in the quarter-final.
Alcaraz and Medvedev, crowned at the US Open in 2021, have already faced each other seven times and the former has won five of their confrontations, the last time in the semi-final at Wimbledon this season. Alcaraz subsequently dominated Novak Djokovic in the final and retained his title on the London turf.
