Sinner battles past Zverev to reach Cincinnati final

Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev on Sunday in a thrilling Cincinnati Open semi-final in which the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings showed both his skill and heart.

Despite limping at times and favouring his hip, which has plagued him recently, the Italian produced stunning shotmaking to oust the 2021 Cincinnati champion 7-6(9), 5-7, 7-6(4) in three hours and seven minutes. The top seed will play home favourite Frances Tiafoe in Monday evening’s championship match.

“Sometimes you have to play a bit with the gut feeling. And I think this today was, my strength,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “[There were] some up and downs, which can happen, especially when you play [for] more than three hours. It was a good match, I think for both of us. He served very, very well, so I can be very proud.”

JANNIK SINNER SURVIVES 🔥@janniksin is into his first #CincyTennis final after defeating Zverev in a 3-set thriller!@CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/KnlPx7Wmhx

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 19, 2024

When Sinner was unable to find a way to close out the match in straight sets and the Italian showed signs of increasing discomfort in his hip, it seemed the consistent Zverev was well-positioned to move within a victory of his second title at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

But instead the World No. 1 produced blistering play to narrow the deficit in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with the German to 2-4. He had lost his past four matches against Zverev.

“It means a lot to me. It's a very different moment, what I'm going through, so I'm very happy about this result," Sinner said. "The physical aspect, of course, I have to improve, because if I want to win Grand Slams or a bigger title, I have to be, for sure, more in shape. But I just tried to stay there mentally, which I'm very proud [of], and let's see what's coming tomorrow.”

After Sinner crushed a forehand return winner up the line on the full stretch to take a 6/3 lead in the final-set tie-break, all Zverev could do was bend over in disbelief. His 23-year-old opponent had taken the match from him at the most critical moment.

Sinner had not advanced past the Round of 16 before this edition. Now he is one victory from claiming a Tour-leading fifth title of the season. 

Zverev had his fair share of opportunities. The 27-year-old served for the first set, but played a sloppy service game to allow his opponent back into it. After rain suspended play, Sinner was then able to save two set points before taking the opener.

An afternoon match suspended by rain turned into an evening match on centre court. Sinner won 64 per cent of his second-serve points compared to 53 per cent for Zverev, which proved key.

“[It was] a tough match, an exciting match. [The] atmosphere has been amazing throughout the whole match,” Sinner said. “Many, many different conditions. We started off with [it] sunny, then after came the rain. Now [it] was night session, so we had a lot of tension for both of us. I'm very happy about this performance, and obviously very happy to be in the final.”

Had Zverev won the title, he would have climbed to No. 2 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The German still leads the ATP Tour in wins this season with 52 according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index.