Sinner still hunting a maiden French Open title

New York Times

3 days ago

Catch up on the action and reaction from Paris after Coco Gauff, Madison Keys and Novak Djokovic also made the last eight Getty Images Getty Images
Jannik Sinner is a three-time Grand Slam champion, but the French Open trophy is one that he hasn't been able to add to his cabinet yet.
And it is the major where he has had the least success in his short career so far. The Italian has made just one semifinal in Paris and has not yet been to the final.
Alexander Bublik stands in his way in the next match and, if Sinner wins that, he will face either Alexander Zverev or Novak Djokovic in the semifinal. Getty Images
Another player to look out for tomorrow for US followers is Frances Tiafoe (15), who is back in action in a tasty clash against Italy's Lorenzo Musetti (8).
Musetti dispatched fellow top ten seed Holger Rune (10) in the last round and comes into the match as the favourite of the two players.
But like the bright blue kit he has worn all tournament, Tiafoe is always capable of an eye catching performance.
The 27-year-old has been in fine form on clay in Paris with straight set dispatches of all his opponents so far, the latest of which was Germany's Daniel Altmaier in the last round.
The draw is shaping up nicely on Tiafoe's side of the competition if he can topple a player very adept to the surface when they meet tomorrow.
Day ten is on the horizon at Roland Garros and we have American interest in two men's singles matches on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
In the evening primetime slot Tommy Paul (12) is back and looking to book his place in the quarter final against Carlos Alcaraz (1) — no easy test.
Alcaraz is making a bid to be the heir to compatriot Rafa Nadal's king of clay title after winning last year's French Open title but Paul stands in his way.
The 28-year-old has overcome adversity in early round tests that ran over five sets before a straight sets win in the last round over Alexei Popyrin to get to this stage. Can he pull off an upset? Getty Images
With today's victory, Jannik Sinner's impressive winning ways continue. In fact, Sinner's only lost twice since the Canadian Open last year. Both losses came to one player: Carlos Alcaraz.
Alcaraz beat Sinner last year at the 2024 China Open final in Beijing. Then, the Spaniard beat the Italian this year in the Italian Open final in May.
Sinner's last defeat at a slam came against Daniil Medvedev in the quarterfinal of last year's Wimbledon. Getty Images
First serve percentage: Sinner: 62 percent
Rublev: 65 percent
First serve points won: Sinner: 81 percent
Rublev: 69 percent
Second serve points won: Sinner: 77 percent
Rublev: 29 percent
Break points converted: Sinner: 5-of-8
Rublev: 0-of-3
Total points won:
Unforced errors: Getty Images
With the final fourth-round match in the books, let's take a look at the lineup for the men's quarterfinals.
All eyes on those two Americans in action tomorrow...
Tuesday Lorenzo Musetti (8) vs Frances Tiafoe (15)
Tommy Paul (12) vs Carlos Alcaraz (2)
Wednesday Alexander Zverev (3) vs Novak Djokovic (6)
Jannik Sinner (1) vs Alexander Bublik Getty Images
Our match winner has been speaking on court about his performance and his mental fortitude in tests like today's straight-sets win over Andrey Rublev.
💬 "I am very happy, we both know each other very well. We have played many times against each other and we have tried to change up a little bit our game style. I'm happy because things can quickly go in a bad way especially in five sets. I'm very happy to do it in three and night sessions are always so special here in Paris.
"Inside there is a storm going on. But tennis is a very mental game and you try not to show anything to your opponent. When you see your opponent struggling, you always try to raise (your game). I am someone who is a lot on the other side, I try to understand how my opponent is feeling. In the beginning of my career the storm was also on the outside, not just the inside." Getty Images
That victory for Jannik Sinner means both semifinals lineups are complete — here are the eight women competing for the crown at Roland Garros.
Tuesday (1) Aryna Sabalenka vs. (8) Qinwen Zheng
(13) Elina Svitolina vs. (1) Iga Świątek
Wednesday (8) Mirra Andreeva vs. Lois Boisson
(7) Madison Keys vs. (2) Coco Gauff Getty Images
The mark of a champion?
He's won plenty so far and Jannik Sinner has take another step towards his goal of being crowned Roland Garros champion.
That was a clinical dispatch of Andrey Rublev in two hours as the Russian left the court with a wry smile and a shake of the head at what he just came up against. Getty Images
Sinner 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 Rublev
Jannik Sinner breaks for the first time in the third set to win 6-1, 6-3, 6-4 over Andrey Rublev. It was a dominating display with the world No.1 cruising into the quarterfinals without dropping a set.
Credit must go to Rublev who fought hard in the third set, but he didn't break Sinner once all night having failed to take any of his three break-point opportunities.
The Italian is 12-0 in sets at this year's Roland Garros, only losing 30 games over the first four matches, with his average time on court being an hour and 56 minutes. Today's match lasted exactly two hours.
Sinner takes on Alexander Bublik, who beat Jack Draper earlier on, in the quarterfinals. Getty Images
Quite possibly, as Jannik Sinner moves to within one game of this match.
It has been such an impressive night from the Italian. He was always the favourite but a dismantling of this nature — even with an improved third set from Andrey Rublev — sets down a real marker.
Rublev just closed his eyes for a moment of reflection or visualisation at changeover. He needs some magic here and to continue with his aggressive shot making if he is to take this to a fourth set. Getty Images
Sinner 6-1, 6-3, 5-4* Rublev
Jannik Sinner gets a routine service hold. He's now one game away from winning the match in straight sets and advancing to the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
Andrey Rublev's hung in tough this entire set. He needs to hold to extend the match.
This has been a much more competitive set from Rublev.
Whether it is the freedom of the odds being stacked against him at two sets down or a shift in momentum in this match, he is finding his feet in the third set.
The crowd are right behind him, which will be a additional motivator, too. Getty Images
Sinner 6-1, 6-3, *4-4 Rublev
That was the best point from Andrey Rublev today. He finally wins an extended rally, ending it with a blazing forehand crosscourt winner to get the service hold.
The crowd at Court Philippe-Chatrier chants "Rublev! Rublev!" We're tied in the third set. Getty Images
Sinner 6-1, 6-3, 4-3* Rublev
Jannik Sinner escapes from 30-30 to get the service hold. Andrey Rublev hasn't been able to take advantage of his opponent's second serve.
As he showed in that last game, Sinner is so accurate with the kick serve, which brings a return that he can often easily put away.
The Italian has won 75 percent of point behind his second serve this evening. Getty Images
Sinner 6-1, 6-3, *3-3 Rublev
That's a gutsy hold from Andrey Rublev. After failing to capitalize on the break point in the previous game, Rublev was down 0-30. But he fought his way back with efficient serving to get the crucial hold.
The No.17 seed is hanging around in this third set — can he find a way to break Jannik Sinner's serve? Getty Images
That was a wasted opportunity for Andrey Rublev — looking at a second serve on break point.
He was so close to breaking Jannik Sinner but the Italian once again came back to take the game after the Russian hammered his return straight into the net.
Rublev has shown he is ready to fight for this match but he has been predictable with his play at times, which has benefited Sinner.
This could all be over very quickly if he is not able to make moments like that pay. Getty Images
Sinner 6-1, 6-3, 3-2* Rublev
Unfortunately for Andrey Rublev, the chance to break the Jannik Sinner serve was short lived. He committed an unforced error to bring the game to deuce. On game point for Sinner, Rublev hit another backhand shot into the net, leading to a service hold.
Critical mistakes on his groundstrokes continue to hurt Rublev. Sinner escapes and leads in the third set, three games from a place in the quarterfinal. Getty Images
Sinner 6-1, 6-3, *2-2 Rublev
Andrey Rublev, finally, has another break point-opportunity — his first against Jannik Sinner since the first game of the match.
Can he convert?