Needless to say, everyone’s attention was focused on the color of his face, his gaze, his ‘body language’. Jannik Sinner he entered Rod Laver Arena proud and focused, and it took just a few minutes to understand that the fear of two days ago was now just a distant memory. For confirmation, ask Alex De Minaur, defeated without appeal for the tenth time in a row: “Today I think I played a great match – declared the Italian during the press conference – I served well and the fact that I broke always quite early in the sets allowed me to express myself at my best. I think it was the best match of the tournament.” The Australian didn’t need the support of the home crowd: “Every match is a story in itself – he explained – sometimes things can change suddenly and it could have happened tonight too.
He could have broken me at the beginning of the second set, and in that case, with the audience on his side, things could have changed. Even if you have won the previous ones, you always have to keep your attention high and today I think I did it from the very first points. You never know what can happen in a match and you always have to be ready. Today I did it.”
The world number 1 returns to the malaise that affected his match two days ago with Rune: “After that match I did some blood tests – he explained – and nothing showed up, they were fine. Sometimes it happens, you wake up and you just don’t feel well. But today I woke up and felt much better and I told my team right away. In the last two days I have slept better and rested. I’m not perfect yet but I’m not worried, and in a couple of days I’ll be even better.” For Jannik it is the fifth semi-final in a Slam, for the first time he will play it as reigning champion: “I’m happy, but I try to live in the moment and enjoy it. You should never take anything for granted, I’m happy to be here, to have another opportunity and to play in front of such a beautiful and respectful crowd.”
He will be challenged by Ben Shelton: “He’s a complicated opponent – he concludes – he has a great serve, one of the best on tour, and he’s very aggressive. We know each other well but a lot will also depend on the conditions in which we will play.” A note of color… red. While Jannik was facing his quarter-final at the Australian Open, on the other side of the world Lewis Hamilton was testing the Ferrari for the first time: “I saw some beautiful images – he says, as a great Formula 1 fan – seeing him in red is strange, but it’s beautiful. It will be a good season.”
