Jannik Sinner qualified for the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Beijing by defeating Jiri Lehecka in straight sets. The world No. 1 will face Yunchaokete Bu, who surprised Andrey Rublev.
For once, two sets were enough for him to win. While he needed three to eliminate Nicolas Jarry then Roman Safiullin in his first two rounds, Jannik Sinner qualified in two sets for the semi-finals of the ATP tournament in Beijing against Jiri Lehecka: 6- 2, 7-6 in 1h45. Already winner of the Czech, 37th in the world, during their two previous confrontations, the n°1 did it again, at the end of a match where he served 7 aces, 60% of first serves and was not broken.
Sinner pocketed the first set by taking the opponent’s serve at 2-1 and 5-2, while losing only six points on his put in play. In the second, he missed a ball of 5-3, then lost found himself in difficulty on his serve for the only time in the match, at 5-5. But at the end of a long game, he held on and pushed his opponent into a tie-break. A decisive game in which the Czech led 6-4, but he panicked and lost the next four points, and therefore the match! Sinner is doing well on this one, but it is still a fifteenth victory in a row for the Italian, who remains on two trophies, in Cincinnati and at the US Open.
The Bu sensation!
In the semi-final, he could have faced the last player to have beaten him (in the quarter-finals in Montreal), Andrey Rublev. But the Russian, who had to finish his eighth in the morning, did not manage to continue. He lost in two sets against the Chinese Yunchaokete Bu, 96th in the world, with a score of 7-5, 6-4 in 1h33. Bu was notably able to rely on his serve, achieving six aces and saving the four break points that Rublev obtained.
He notably saved two at 0-1 and 2-3 in the first set, and it was ultimately he who had the last word by breaking at the best moment, at 5-5, before pocketing the set on a white game. In the second, he took the Russian’s serve at 1-1, then saved a ball from 4-4 and 5-5, before concluding on his first match point. The 22-year-old player, of Mongolian origin, fan of Andy Murray, offers himself the greatest victory of his career. What if he created a surprise again on Tuesday against Sinner?
