Jannik Sinner continued his Mars on Wednesday evening to a second consecutive US Open title and sent the 10th placed Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours flat in the very first All-Italian quarterfinals on a Grand Slam tournament. The World No 1 and the top seeds in New York were only tested in Flickers, but turned out to be immobile, making all seven breakpoints with which he was confronted, five of his six chances converted. The result again laid the gap between the metronomic consistency of Sinner and the rest of the field, even when confronted with a countryman armed with one of the most elegant backhands in the sport.
Sinner burst out of the gate, took the first five games of a restless Musetti and dropped the opening set in just 27 minutes. His depth and shot weight locks are also -Italian in defensive exchanges, and although Musetti produced stylish winners in splashes, they outweigh errors, both unchanged and usual. The second set was tighter. On 1-2, the Sinner knew the only early danger with a 129 mph non-declining service wide before he held with a thunderous bait. Musetti started in the fifth game after he had succumbed to an 18-shot rally, only to escape with the hold to continue to serve. But served on 4-4, 30-40, he fitted double to give the benefit to Sinner, who served it quietly after the change of ends for a two-set lead.
The lack of tension in the competition led to some poor public behavior – the usual targeted conversation in Arthur Ashe Stadium even more distracting than normal, spectators who go outside and to their seats outside of switches, the actor John Turturro at one point of a camera operator to compete in the nearby fans – but Sinner’s composer’s composer’s composer.
By the start of the third, the resistance of Musetti faded. He was broken in his opening service game and immediately besieged again. To his honor, he produced four breaking point opportunities in the next game and another two out of 3-2, but Sinner turned them all off with a mix of balance and precision. When Musetti was broken again late in the set, the game was over, Sinner sealed the victory at Love with a few aces.
The statistics borrowed numeric context to one -way traffic. Sinner won 42 of the 46 first service points (91%), ended with 28 winners to 17 casual mistakes, never lost his serial and maintained an iron grip when the danger threatened. Musetti hit 12 winners, but sprayed 22 mistakes, so much undone by his failure to take advantage of rare openings and by Sinner’s ruthless Ball-Triking. The 24-year-old has now only dropped 38 games in five games, the one first by a man to reach the semi-final of the US Open since 2020. It was also his 26th consecutive victory at Majors played on hard courts, a streak that moved him above John Mcenroe and now next to Novak Djokovic and Ivan Lendl as the third longest history.
“I can be found in the semis of a Grand Slam again, it is a big achievement,” said Sinner, who offers to become the first man to defend the American open title, because Roger Federer claimed that the last of five straight championships are in 2008. “We try to be the best in the best possible way to be in this position.
For Musetti the opportunity was both a lesson and a measure of how far he got. “I never, to be honest, played anyone who put me on this kind of hurry in the rally,” he said afterwards. “He always led the rally. Of course he is better than me, and he showed.” He added: “Free impressed by Jannik’s performance today. I think he served very well, and he pushed me to the extreme. I am glad I played against him to understand the things I have to improve.”
Sinner, for his part, quickly recognized the peculiar challenge to make a countryman. “Of course we know each other very well,” he said on the field. “We come from the same country, we have so many Italian players in the draw every time. It is nice to play here, of course Davis Cup play together and then these kinds of things, but we have to take the friendship away for the game and when we shake hands, it is all right. From my point of view it was a great performance, very solid, very solid, very good start in the match.”
Asked if he felt that he was playing his best tennis, Demurrred, the sinner. “Every player who is in the semi -final of a Grand Slam, they play great tennis,” he said. “It’s a very special tournament. They always say it’s the last Grand Slam of the Year, the last biggest tournament that we have the entire season. So there is no better place to play a night game here in the largest stadium we have with a great audience. It means a lot to me.”
He also thought about the meaning of an All-Italian occasion. “Certainly at home some Italians didn’t sleep,” he said with a grin. “We are very proud of being Italian. Like I said, it’s a special country. We have great support, Italians are actually everywhere. It’s great to be Italian and, yes, you see in the next round.”
For Sinner, the victory extended his undefeated run against Italian opponents to 16-0 and provided a place in a fifth consecutive large semifinal. It was also his 86th victory at a Grand Slam, who was the most bond by Nicola Pietrangeli by an Italian man. He will then be confronted with Felix Auger-Aliassime, the Canadian 25th seed that came past Alex de Minaur earlier in the day. Auger-Aliassime has won two of their three previous meetings, although Sinner beat him last month for the loss of only two games in Cincinnati. “It will be completely different, because the circumstances here are different,” Sinner said. “He has achieved a number of big victories, so great confidence for him. From my point of view I always try to look at myself. It will be a very, very difficult match for both of us, because with a grand slam the energy and everything is different.”
The quarterfinals was a milestone for Italian tennis, the first time that two men from the country stood opposite each other in the second week. But there was never much doubt about italian about. Sinner’s grab on Flushing Meadows remains firm, his authority is undimen, and the prospect of a new depth of September is now just as routine looks like his last victory.
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