Jannik Sinner speaks after surviving a scare against Daniil Medvedev at the Italian Open
Jannik Sinner survived an almighty scare against Daniil Medvedev to secure his place in the Italian Open final.
Sinner won 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 against the Russian star, producing a near-perfect performance in front of a rapturous Italian crowd.
The Italian took the first set 6-2, but the following set featured a rare slip-up for the World No. 1. He was broken for the first time in the tournament by Medvedev, who took a 3-0 lead in the second set.
Sinner looked worse for wear and appeared to throw up on the court, which was also reported by Sky Sports’ Naomi Cavaday and Tim Henman.
The Italian, astonishingly, managed to fight back in the second set, however, despite suffering with clear fatigue issues throughout the rest of the match.
His health issues were simply too much for him in the end, though, and he dropped the second set by a scoreline of 7-5. Sinner looked done for at that stage, but he was able to fight back to secure the match with a raucous Italian crowd roaring him on.
Sinner took a 4-2 lead before a rain delay caused play to follow on to the next day. The Italian eventually take the deciding set by a scoreline of 6-4.
After the match, Sinner said: ““Very different challenge. A tough challenge to be honest. During the night usually I never struggle to sleep. This night was not easy. When you’re in the third set, nearly done, but you still have to show up again.. you never know what’s happening you know.
“It’s basically a new start of a match. There are nerves again. But again I’m very happy how I handled the situation. Very happy to be back in the final. Tomorrow is gonna be again a very tough day. But I’m very happy this match is finally over. It was a very long one.. very happy.”
Sinner will play Casper Ruud in the final, after the Norwegian swept aside Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1 in the other semi-final match in Rome.
The Italian will be very confident he can defeat Ruud in the final, and not just because he is playing so sensationally well at his home tournament.
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Sinner has an impressive head-to-head record against Ruud, having never lost to the Norwegian in any of his four meetings with the star.
Their last match even came at the Italian Open, where Ruud’s game was ripped apart by the World No. 1. Sinner dropped just one game against Ruud.
Sinner’s performance absolutely flawed Ruud at last year’s event and he told press exactly what he thought about the Italian’s game following the match.
“It’s like you just look at the guy and say: ‘Wow, this is kind of next-level s***.’ Excuse my language,” Ruud said after last year’s drubbing. “I don’t know what else to say. It was almost fun to witness at the same time. Of course, I wish it was a closer match.
“I wish I could have given the people, the fans, a longer or closer match. But I think that I was there ready to play, he was just even readier.”
Sinner’s level has undoubtedly increased in the last year, so Ruud could be in for a very difficult afternoon in the final against the Italian, despite Sinner’s clear fatigue issues in Rome.
