Jannik Sinner fought his way into the semi-finals at Wimbledon with a tightly-contested victory over German veteran Jan-Lennard Struff.
The world No.1 was forced to work hard throughout his 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-3 win over 36-year-old Struff, who is the oldest man in the Open Era to make their debut in a Grand Slam quarter-final. During the 157-minute clash, he could only break three times. It is the third time Sinner has made it through to the semi-finals at The All England Club, which is more than any other Italian player in the tournament’s history.
“He’s a very tough player to play against, but he deserves everything he has done and achieved in his career. He’s a great person off the court with an amazing team,” Sinner said of Struff afterwards.
“At the beginning, I felt he started better than me. I was struggling a little bit, and I tried to get into the match. I started to serve a little bit better. I had a break in the second set but couldn’t use it. I just tried to stay there mentally. I’m very happy to be back in the semi-finals.” He added.
The defending champion was tested early on by the fast-serving German, who fired a serve at 138 mph in the first game. Struff dropped just five points behind his serve until 5-6 when Sinner pounced at the perfect time. The top seed capitalised on back-to-back mistakes from his rival to secure a trio of set points. He failed to convert the first two due to Stuff firing aces, but prevailed on his third by hitting a winning forehand return.
Sinner’s challenges continued into the second set, where he saw a series of opportunities come and go. Stuff had a clear tactic of trying to finish the point as quickly as he could by serving big and then coming to the net. However, that method didn’t pay off after failing to execute it two times in a row, producing errors in the process, to get broken three games into the second frame. Unfortunately for Sinner, he lost the advantage right away before having to save a set point when 4-5 down.
Eventually, the four-time major winner regained control in the tiebreaker, which was decided midway through with a backhand error from Struff in what was the only break to occur.
Closing in on glory, Sinner broke again when Struff was serving to level at 4-4 in the third. This handed the opportunity to serve out the match, which he did. It is the third consecutive match he has won in straight sets.
“The second set could have ended in a different way,” reflected Sinner.
“Tiebreaks are always 50/50. If you are one set all or two sets to love, it makes a big difference.
“In the third set I was more relaxed. His first swerve percentage dropped, which made me feel more comfortable.”
It wasn’t just his opponent that was a test for Sinner; it was the hot weather too, with temperatures in the low 30s. On Court One, he had no shade with the exception of the changeover where the ball kids held an umbrella over him. During his shock French Open exit, he struggled in the heat with cramping.
“We worked a lot, especially after Paris,” Sinner said of dealing with the heat.
“Trying to understand what went wrong. We prepared in the best possible way. It was a huge test today and I felt really comfortable with the physical side. It is a good step forward.”
Sinner has won 98 matches at major events so far in his career, which means he could reach the century mark at Wimbledon if he wins the title. In the next round he could face seven-time champion Novak Djokovic, if the Serbian defeats third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime.
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