Chris Eubanks shocked at Jannik Sinner’s ‘first ever sacrifice’ against Daniil Medvedev
Chris Eubanks was taken aback at just how much Jannik Sinner was suffering physically in his semi-final clash with Daniil Medvedev at the Italian Open.
Towards the end of Sinner’s quarter-final win over Andrey Rublev, the world No 1 was visibly struggling as his record Masters 1000 win streak appeared to take its toll.
Sinner, who is seeking a record-extending 33rd straight victory at this level, went further into the red against Medvedev, who took the Italian to a third set on Friday night.
In the second and third sets, the 24-year-old received treatment for what appeared to be cramps, which Medvedev was not happy about.
Play was suspended due to rain just when Medvedev had a game point at 4-2 down in the decider. While Sinner may yet win this battle, his energy reserves are getting more and more depleted.
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When the players trudged off the court at the Italian Open, the likes of Jim Courier, Mark Petchey, and Eubanks were all struck by how hard Sinner was having to work to win this encounter.
And when you are not at your best physically, Courier said the last player you want to play is the 6ft 6in Russian.
He said on Tennis Channel, “That [break] might have done him a world of good. Jannik Sinner looked like he was hurting physically out there.
“Medvedev is the wrong guy to play when you’re not feeling your best because he can just extract pain.”
In addition to his apparent muscle issues, Sinner also appeared to be unwell during the match. Petchey wasn’t sure if in one instance the four-time major winner was actually sick on the court.
Due to these factors, Eubanks remarked how Sinner gave up on a point, something he had never seen before.
The American said, “It felt like maybe he was dealing with some type of illness. He was having trouble catching his breath. We even saw him grimace a little bit at one of the change of ends.
“But then, classic Jannick, he gets onto the court. He’s running side to side. For the first time I’ve ever seen, kind of sacrifice a point, play a drop shot and just realize the point was going on a little bit too long.
“He needed to conserve his energy. He was able to kind of balance it in the third [set], got up the break and then started to have a little bit of push-pull, started to really force the aggression on some points, started to kind of let some go and manage the body.”
The match is due to resume at 2pm GMT.
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