French Open: Jannik Sinner emulates Rafael Nadal, storms into 2nd successive semi-final
Jannik Sinner extended his red-hot Grand Slam form with a dominant 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 win over Alexander Bublik on Wednesday to reach the French Open semi-finals for the second consecutive year. With this victory, the world No. 1 became the youngest man since Rafael Nadal in 2008 to win 19 straight matches at the majors.Under the retractable roof of Court Philippe-Chatrier, Sinner made a blistering start, racing to a 5-0 lead in the opening set. Bublik managed to hold serve to get on the board, but the Italian quickly closed out the set with clinical shot-making and relentless baseline pressure.advertisementThe Kazakh, known for his unpredictability, responded with more resistance in the second set. Mixing in drop shots and aggressive net approaches, Bublik kept Sinner on his toes and held level at 5-5. But a dip in intensity at a crucial moment allowed Sinner to break and serve out the set.
"I'm very happy with how I've arrived in the semi-finals. The semi-finals in Grand Slams are very special, I'm looking forward to it," Sinner said.From there, it was all Sinner. Bublik's shot selection faltered under pressure, including a failed underarm serve, as the Italian tightened his grip on the match. Sinner completed the win in just an hour and 48 minutes, securing his place in the last four.French Open Day 11 Live UpdatesThe victory marked another milestone for the 23-year-old, who became the first Italian man to reach six Grand Slam semi-finals. It also extended his unbeaten run at majors, following title triumphs at the US Open and Australian Open.advertisementSinner will face either Novak Djokovic or Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals. He is tied 4-4 in his head-to-head with Djokovic and trails Zverev 3-4."We've played each other a couple of times already, so we already knew what to expect a little bit. But, in other aspects, you never know how he is going to play," Sinner added."I feel like he deserved to be in this quarter-final ... I tried to focus on my side of the court. I was trying to play as solid as possible because he can have some ups and downs, so I just needed to stay consistent throughout the whole match."As Sinner continues his pursuit of a maiden Roland Garros title, he remains one of the most in-form and composed players on tour, showing little sign of slowing down.
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