Tag: Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner ignored the bubbling controversy over his steroid case and a roaring home crowd to set up a China Open final against Carlos Alcaraz.

The world number one and defending champion defeated the 96th-ranked Chinese wildcard Bu Yunchaokete 6-3, 7-6 (7⁄3) to avoid a major upset.

The Italian faces Spanish second seed Alcaraz, who was in fine form in a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev in the other semi-final.

 “It’s a very delicate moment, very difficult, very different,” Sinner said after racking up a 15th  win in a row even as he makes headlines off the court. “So every victory for me is a great sign.”

In front of a packed house on China’s national day, US Open champion Sinner was facing a player he had never met before and who was competing in the biggest match of his life.

China’s 22-year-old Bu was also in the form of his life, having reached the semi-finals last week in Hangzhou.

Bu had Sinner under pressure on the Italian’s serve early in the first set, but Sinner staved off the threat and the storm gradually blew itself out as the set wore on.

They went to the tiebreak in the second set, with Sinner sending down his 11th ace of the contest to convert his third match point.

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Nobody has won more matches on tour this season than Sinner, 23, who failed two doping tests in March but was cleared of wrongdoing and allowed to keep playing.

Tennis authorities accepted Sinner’s explanation that trace amounts of a steroid unintentionally entered his system from a physiotherapist who used a spray containing it to treat a cut, then provided massage and sports therapy to the player.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reignited the case on Saturday, saying it had appealed against the decision and is seeking a ban of up to two years.

Sinner has admitted to having sleepless nights over the issue.

Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz reached his first Beijing final and is in ominous form, yet to drop a set.

 “I felt great on the court once again, so I’m really happy about it. I think I couldn’t ask for a better semi-final,” said Alcaraz, who is chasing a 16th ATP Tour title – which would equal Sinner.

The two have met nine times previously on the tour, with the Spaniard holding a 5-4 edge, but Sinner won their semi-final in Beijing last year.

In the women’s draw, 595th -ranked home hope Zhang Shuai – one of the storylines of the tournament – rolled into the last eight.

Her 6-4, 6-2 victory over Magdalena Frech was her fourth win in Beijing – all in straight sets – having come into the event after losing 24 singles matches in a row.

The barren run lasting more than 600 days was the second-longest on the WTA Tour in the Open Era, which began in 1968.

The 35-year-old Zhang, a former two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist who has been plagued by injury, said she had come close to quitting singles tennis before coming to Beijing.

 “I had no idea how to win and I didn’t want to lose another, especially with all the Chinese fans,” she said.

 “Walking back to the locker room, I didn’t know if I should continue or not before this tournament.”

The former top-25 player will face Spain’s 19th -ranked Paula Badosa.

Zhang is the lowest-ranked player ever to reach the last eight of the China Open.

A showdown between two former US Open champions in Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka came to a premature end when the Japanese player retired with a back injury before a deciding third set.

Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam title of 2024 when he swept aside Taylor Fritz in the US Open final, shattering American hopes of a first male champion at the majors in 21 years.

World number one Sinner, who won his maiden Slam at the Australian Open in January, became the first Italian man to triumph in New York with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory.

For 23-year-old Sinner, it was a 55th  match win of the season and sixth title.

After his 21-year-old rival Carlos Alcaraz pocketed the French Open and Wimbledon titles to take his majors collection to four, the two men have cemented their places as the powerhouses of tennis’s new era.

 “This title means so much,” said Sinner who arrived in New York under a cloud after it was revealed he had failed two drug tests but escaped sanction. “The last period of my career has not been easy but I have my team and family who support me.

 “I love tennis but off court there is a life also and I want to dedicate this trophy to my aunt because she is not well and I don’t know how much longer I will have her in my life.

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 “She was a very important part of my life and still is. It’s nice to share this with her.”

World number 12 Fritz was bidding to be the first American man since Andy Roddick in New York in 2003 to win a major.

He was backed by A-list celebrity support amongst the 23,000-strong crowd inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Pop queen Taylor Swift watched alongside boyfriend and NFL star Travis Kelce while Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey was hard to miss as he donned a Stars and Stripes headband.

 “It has been an amazing two weeks. Congratulations to Jannik, he played a great match. He was very impressive and was too good today,” said Fritz.

 “I’m sorry I couldn’t get it done but I will keep working and I feel I will get it the next time.”

Sinner raced to a 2-0 lead in the first set before Fritz settled and levelled for 2-2.

The 26-year-old American saved a break point on the back of an exhausting 23-shot rally in the fifth game but soon slipped 4-3 down.

Sinner pounced again with a third break to claim the opening set as Fritz fired a backhand long.

The two players had only dropped serve a combined 20 times over six rounds each at the tournament before Sunday’s final.

That strength shone through in the second set with the first nine games all service holds until the 10th .

Sinner then carved out two set points but only needed one, a deep forehand forcing Fritz into a desperate scramble before he buried his return limply in the net.

By that stage of the final, Sinner had committed just nine unforced errors to the 19 of Fritz in an a illustration of his control of the court.

Fritz, the first American man in any Grand Slam final since Roddick at Wimbledon in 2009, saw three break points come and go in the first game of the third set.

But Sinner served up his fourth double fault of the final to hand Fritz a 4-3 lead.

With his back to the wall, the Italian top seed then broke back in the 10th  

game as Fritz served for the set and held for 6-5.

He went to two championship points when a disheartened Fritz ballooned a running forehand and sealed victory when the American netted.

Jannik Sinner said he was ready for the pressure and expectation that came with being a Grand Slam champion after becoming the first Italian to win the Australian Open by beating Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Being forced to come from two sets down in a first Grand Slam final would test the nerves of any player but the 22-year-old dealt with the pressure in the ice-cool manner with which he has met all success, and failure, over his young career.

“There is always pressure but the pressure is something good. You have to take it in a good way. It’s a privilege, no?” he said after his 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 win over the Russian third seed.

“Because there are not so many players who have this kind of pressure but in the other way, when you have pressure, it’s always, okay, he believes that I can really do it.

“So yes, I like to dance in the pressure storm. I don’t know how to say. Like me personally, I like it, because that’s where most of the time I bring out my best tennis.

“I’m also quite relaxed on this occasion, because I always try to enjoy being on court.”

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Sinner had been widely tipped as a potential Grand Slam champion at Melbourne Park this year after finishing last season as the hottest player on the ATP Tour.

He followed that by leading Italy to their first Davis Cup title in late November and on Sunday Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was quick to offer her congratulations.

“Jannik Sinner writes a new page of history today that makes us proud,” she wrote on social media. “For the first time, Italy wins the Australian slam. A memorable feat worthy of a true champion.”

Sinner said representing Italy was perhaps the most important part of his triumph.

“Being able to make them happy today, because I feel like… they push me also, that I can believe in myself and then having so much support, it’s amazing,” he said.

 The closest Sinner got to betraying real emotion in his post-match media appearances was when he spoke about the way his parents had supported his dream but not put any pressure on him.

That said, he felt he was more than ready for the attention and expectation that joining the Grand Slam winners’ club would bring.

“I feel it’s part of the game, no?” he said. “Me, I’m extremely happy that I am in this position now. I have a great team behind me who knows what I have to do.

“It’s all part of the process. Obviously having this trophy, it’s an amazing feeling. I feel grateful to have this here. But I know that I have to work even harder, because the opponents, they will find the way to beat me and I have to be prepared.”