New York (AFP) – Jannik Sinner became the first Italian man to reach the US Open final on Friday while Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe battled to become the first American man in a Grand Slam final in 15 years. Australian Open champion Sinner defeated an ailing Jack Draper of Britain 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in the semi-finals. Fritz or Tiafoe will be the Italian’s opponent for the title on Sunday as they try to end their country’s 21-year wait for a male Grand Slam champion.
“Jack and I know each other very well, we are great friends off court,” said Sinner, who unleashed 43 winners in the match where he also injured his wrist in a nasty fall. “It was a very physical match. He’s so tough to beat so I’m excited to be in the final.” In a gruelling three-hour match, Draper, the first British man in the semi-finals since Andy Murray won the title in 2012, was eventually undone by 10 double faults and 43 unforced errors as well as his illness.
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“In the final, it will be a very tough challenge whoever I play,” added 23-year-old Sinner. “I’m happy to be in that position because if you are in the final on a Sunday it means you are doing an amazing job.” World number 25 Draper arrived in his first Grand Slam semi-final having only been broken three times in five rounds and not having dropped a set. However, Sinner started eating into that streak with a break for a 4-3 lead, quickly wiped out by the Briton. Draper was broken again on the back of his sixth double fault in the 11th game before the Italian top seed served it out with a love game.
In a dramatic second set, Draper vomited at the side of the court before Sinner then fell chasing a Draper shot, hurting his left wrist as he attempted to break his fall. Sinner won that point, but Draper held serve for 5-4. Two trainers then appeared on court at the same time to treat the two players’ ailments, although Sinner required a full medical timeout. It was a brief scare, however, as the Italian raced through the tiebreak to secure a two-sets lead. Draper looked physically spent and was reduced to walking pace as the third set and match slipped away from him.
With Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz having suffered shock first-week exits, a first-time US Open champion will be crowned on Sunday. Andy Roddick was the last American man to win a Grand Slam singles title when he captured the US Open. Fritz and Tiafoe were just five years old at the time. Roddick was also the last US man to reach a final at the majors when he lost to Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2009.
Fritz, the 12th seed, had lost four Grand Slam quarter-finals before ending that run when he knocked out fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev. Tiafoe, ranked 20 in the world, is in the US Open semi-finals for a second time in his last three appearances. Fritz enjoys a 6-1 head-to-head lead over his friend but Tiafoe has dismissed that as irrelevant ahead of Friday night’s clash under the Arthur Ashe Stadium lights. “It’s different on Ashe, man,” said Tiafoe.
Earlier Friday, Ukraine’s Lyudmyla Kichenok became a Grand Slam champion, just two days after cancelling her wedding. Kichenok, 32, teamed up with Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko to beat Kristina Mladenovic and Zhang Shuai 6-4, 6-3 in the women’s doubles final. On Wednesday, she had been planning to marry boyfriend Stas Khmarsky who is also Ostapenko’s coach. But a run to the championship match for the seventh seeds meant the ceremony was temporarily shelved.
“My boyfriend and I were supposed to get married on Wednesday but it didn’t happen,” said Kichenok. “We actually had the appointment but I was playing the semi-finals.”
© 2024 AFP
