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ShareCINCINNATI: Jannik Sinner ended his losing streak against Alexander Zverev with a 7-6 (11/9), 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) win on Sunday to set up a Cincinnati Open final against American Frances Tiafoe. The world number one had lost four consecutive matches to Zverev, with his only previous win over the German coming at Roland Garros four years ago.
The semi-final lasted more than three hours, not including a rain interruption. The match was paused midway through the first-set tie-break for nearly 30 minutes while a shower passed over the area—another episode of the poor weather which has plagued the event in recent days.
Sinner saved two Zverev set points and won the opener on his own third chance, only to drop the second set after he lost an early break and was broken again in the 12th game as he sent an overhead into the net. The third set went into a tie-break, with Sinner taking a 5-2 lead and triumphing on his second match point. “It was a tough match, a very exciting match,” the Italian said. “We played in different conditions: sunny, rain and then night. “There was a lot of tension for both of us. I’m very happy with my performance and happy to be in the final.”
Sinner is chasing his first title since triumphing on grass in Halle two months ago. “I had to play with my gut, I feel that is my strength,” the 23-year-old said. “We had some ups and downs over three hours.” “I couldn’t have played a better match than this to prepare,” he added, looking ahead to the start of the US Open in eight days.
Sinner, who has suffered recently with a hip problem, illness and the tonsillitis which forced him to skip the Olympics, said he needs to keep up his fitness. “If I’m going to win bigger matches, I have to be more in shape. Today I stayed mentally strong; I’m proud of that.” Sinner will be playing in his fifth career Masters 1000 final.
Crazy
Tiafoe came from 5-2 down in the final set and claimed a deciding tie-break for a 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4) defeat of Danish 15th seed Holger Rune. Tiafoe is the first American man to reach the final since John Isner in 2013 and he saved two match points in his come-from-behind win.
He will move into world’s top 20, joining four compatriots in the strongest US showing since 1997. “It was crazy, that last set was nuts,” Tiafoe said. “It got breezy at the end, but you just had to play the percentages. “I got lucky with a couple of net cords, which made a huge difference. I battled in the tiebreaker and he got a little tight. One thing led to another and here we are.”
Meanwhile, Aryna Sabalenka squandered nine match points but defeated world number one Iga Swiatek 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday, breaking through to her first final at the WTA and ATP Cincinnati Open. Four-time Cincinnati semi-finalist Sabalenka will rise to second in the WTA rankings with a week to go before the start of the US Open.
“I finally broke the barrier,” Sabalenka said of her place in the final. “It was such a tough battle with Iga, and we also had to be patient with the weather.” Raindrops required the court lines to be dried by towels during several short interruptions. Sabalenka will play Monday’s final against US sixth seed Jessica Pegula, a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Spain’s Paula Badosa. Pegula, who won last week’s Toronto title, is the third American in the Open Era to reach the Canadian and Cincinnati finals in the same year after Rosie Casals (1970) and Serena Williams (2013). — AFP
