Jannik Sinner has reached the final. © ABN AMRO Open
Eleventh match, eleventh victory: Jannik Sinner is still the man of the hour in this year’s tennis season. On Saturday, the Sesto native beat local hero Tallon Griekspoor in the semi-finals of the ATP 500 tournament in Rotterdam and thus achieved something historic.
February 17, 2024
From: leo
No matter how the final on Sunday against Alex De Minaur (ATP 11) turns out, Sinner has secured third place in the world rankings. The only question is when he will achieve this. Should he defeat the Australian, against whom he has a 6-0 record, he would overtake Daniil Medvedev this Monday. On the other hand, it wouldn’t happen until next Monday. Either way: It is a historic result, as no athlete from the boot state had ever achieved this before. This was made possible by a convincing 6:2, 6:4 win against Griekspoor.
Sinner immediately took the wind out of the Dutch euphoria by making the break in the first game. It quickly became apparent that Sinner was more awake and attentive compared to the quarterfinals. Because he knew that Griekspoor was an extremely unpleasant opponent – especially when he was supported by the fans. And so the man from Sexten immediately followed up with another break, which he got with a fantastic passed ball. Griekspoor then had the chance to return to the first set, but Sinner destroyed two break points with strong serves – and shortly afterwards everything was clear.
Sinner withstands the pressure
The momentum was now on Sinner’s side, but then suddenly spilled over to the other half of the pitch. The reason for this was a medical timeout that Griekspoor took to have a blister on his foot treated. Sinner was a little thrown out of step and had to fend off break points in two consecutive games. It was in these moments that the 22-year-old’s killer instinct came into play. He was always there with the serve and made Griekspoor despair.
Chancenlos: Tallon Greek Spoor © ANSA / SANDER KONING
The pent-up frustration had a negative effect on the Dutchman’s game, because when the score was 4:4 he threw in a horror game that he ended with a double fault. As a result, serving out was just a formality. After 1:19 hours, Sinner used his first match point and, like last year, moved into the final in Rotterdam.
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2024-02-17 20:13:35
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