Citius, altius, fortius: faster, higher, stronger. In the very delicate semi-final in Rotterdam, Jannik Sinner doesn’t play a great match, he allows himself even more slips than against Monfils and Raonic, he suffers a few desperate blows from the home favorite Tallon Griekspoor. But he never loses his head, indeed, in important moments, he confirms that he is now a champion. He imposes “an extra focus”, as he explains on the microphone on the court, that is, he plays with the coldness and concreteness of his idol, Novak Djokovic, and wins the important points, the ones that make the difference and that leave a bitter taste in the mouth of the Dutch hitter even more than the previous two. Thus the Prophet of the Italian Renaissance qualifies for today’s final at 3.30 pm against Alex De Minaur, a repeat of the one 12 months ago which he lost against Medvedev. It is no coincidence that the rival came back from two sets to zero in the historic final of the Australian Open and came back from 0-6 in the head-to-head matches. The one who, already today, if he wins the Dutch final, or in any case in a week – absent the defending Russian champion in Doha -, will take third place in the world rankings, equaling the best position ever of an Italian tennis player of Nicola Pietrangeli in ‘ 59 and in ’60, when the ranking was not drawn up by computer but by journalists. Improving the current number 4 – Open era (since 1973) – which he shares today with Adriano Panatta.
Sinner in the ATP 500 final against De Minaur: time and where to see it on TV and streaming
Rotterdam
Griekspoor, like Sinner, exploded last year, but remained outside the top 20, while the 22-year-old from South Tyrol has increasingly grown into the top 10. The semi-final 12 months ago in Rotterdam was very close – 7-5 7-6 – and she had decided on a pinch of service, coldness and speed of execution. Davis’s revenge in Malaga in the quarterfinals had been hard to absorb for the striker Griekspoor who, at 1-0 for the Netherlands after the 3 match points missed by Arnaldi, had been slowly crushed by the Prophet of the Renaissance until 7- 6 6-1. Who then sealed the decisive 2-1 of the doubles together with Sonego. Impressing the Dutchman who, on Friday, extolled him: «he won in Australia, he has a record series between the end of last season and the beginning of this one, at the moment he is the best in the world».
Sprint
Against the dangerous home hitter, Jannik got off to a flying start, immediately taking the serve and then flying 4-1. «I felt better on the pitch than in the last few games, I found the right rhythm». And, even if at that point he made more mistakes than usual, he was surprised by his opponent’s outbursts and didn’t serve very well, he saved two break points at 2-4 in a great way, and took the first set by 6 -2. “In those moments I always served first, and coming out of those situations increases my confidence.” Imagine after the other two break points at 1-2, and again at 2-3 in the second set. Then, with an ease that isn’t easy, he took the break, putting his poor opponent under unbearable pressure. And he finished with 6-4. It means 14 matches won in a row, 24-1 against opponents outside the top 20 and ATP final number 16 (11-4).
Vendetta
Today Alex de Minaur will also risk everything, after 6 slaps in 6 matches, the first, clear but surprising, in 2019, under the finishing line of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, humiliating with 6-3 6-0 in the final of Davis. Against Dimitrov he did general rehearsals by always leaning on enemy shots – light as he is – and anticipating the offensive phase. But ball weight and response seem to favor Sinner too clearly. With the variation he came down to the net which froze “Demon” in Malaga.
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