World No. 1 Jannik Sinner may be in for a restless sleep tonight after advancing Friday to the US Open final.
But it won’t be the nerves of contending for his second Grand Slam title of the season that are likely to put him into a cold sweat. Wondering how his wrist will feel in the morning after a mid-match fall during his straight-sets win over Jack Draper will be his major concern.
[ATP APP]At 4-all in the second set Sinner extended his left arm to cushion his fall to the court. He looked in discomfort after the tumble and received treatment from the physio at the change of ends.
In his post-match press conference, Sinner said that he was not in too much distress as he continued the match, but would reserve judgment on whether he had escaped serious damage until he woke up Saturday morning.
“The physio loosened it up very fast on court, so after I felt okay in the beginning. Then after it went away by playing, which is good,” Sinner said.
“Let's see how it is tomorrow when it's cold. It's gonna be a different feeling. Hopefully is nothing to concern about. I'm quite relaxed, because if it's something bad, you feel it straightaway a bit more.”
Sinner will face the winner of tonight's semi-final between Americans Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe.
Asked to weigh in on his potential opponent, Sinner spoke first of Fritz. “Well, big serve. Very solid player from the back of the court. He can hit strong. He can hit with rotation. He can mix up the game very well. He has played a lot this year, so he has a lot of rhythm of the match.
“If it's Frances, we just played the final in Cincinnati. He's a very good mover, a good serve also. He can mix up the game with the slice. You know, he's coming a little bit more to the net than Taylor.
“So it's a bit slightly different two players, but yeah, I'm just looking forward for Sunday, and then we see how it goes.”
Regardless of whom he meets, Sinner knows that his opponent will have overwhelming support from New York fans.
“Whoever I play, being in America for sure the crowd will be a little bit more on their side.
"But it's normal. It's like when I play in Italy, so I'm gonna accept that. I have my team and my people who are close to me. In my mind, I know that there are many people watching from home from Italy, and it's just take some support from them.”
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