Jannik Sinner hit almost every ball in the Shanghai quarter-finals. © APA/afp / HECTOR RETAMAL

Sinner chases helpless Medvedev off the court

What a gala performance that was from Jannik Sinner! The world number one played cat and mouse with the ailing Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinals in Shanghai.

10 October 2024

From: fop

It was one of Jannik Sinner's most confident performances among the world's tennis elite: the South Tyrolean swept former number one Daniil Medvedev off the court in 83 minutes with 6:1, 6:4. This secured his ticket to the semi-finals of the Masters tournament in Shanghai.

It was a sheer demonstration of power with which Sinner secured his seventh victory in his 14th duel with Medvedev. The fifth-ranked player from Moscow went into the match injured and had to have his taped shoulder treated several times. And then Sinner chased him from one corner to the other on the court. With his flawless, powerful game, the 23-year-old favorite literally wore down his opponent. Just looking at the following match statistics does not reveal the full one-sidedness of this match:

Sinner drove the numbers listed here up inexorably in the first set. He started immediately with a break and quickly moved up to 3-0. Medvedev never found his way into the game. And so the first set was over after just 26 minutes.

As a result, Sinner reduced his speed a little, but remained almost faultless. In particular, he was, as before, in the round of 16 against Ben Shelton, a force. In the second game in a row he did not lose a single service game. So Medvedev was unable to do anything against the Pusterer on this day. With a break to 3:2 in the second set, he laid the foundation for the two-set victory.

"I wish him a speedy recovery" Jannik Sinner

"You could see that Daniil wasn't in the best shape today. I wish him a speedy recovery," said Sinner in the winner's interview in the only half-full tennis arena in Shanghai. There, the Sextner is in the semifinals for the first time in his career.

Reunion with Alcaraz?

Sinner's annual balance after this performance is incredible: 64 wins and just six defeats. Three of these defeats were caused by Carlos Alcaraz. The South Tyrolean could meet him in the semi-finals on Saturday. The last time the two faced each other was last week in a memorable, albeit for Sinner, painful finale in Beijing But first, world number three Alcaraz has to get rid of Tomas Machac (ATP 33) in Shanghai. The match is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.