Novak Djokovic He will be in the semifinals of the masters tournament this Saturday for the 12th time. Jannik Sinner He did him the favor and opened the doors for him by beating the Dane Holger Rune by 6-2, 5-7 and 6-4, in a match of 2 hours and 30 minutes in which the Italian, already qualified, only played for honor and closed the group with three victories.
The first set was seen and not seen. Sinner He entered the Pala Alpitour with very clear ideas and in 32 minutes he had already made it his own. Him giving up only two games and committing only 3 unforced errors against a rune that it had nothing to do with the player who had complicated life for Djokovic on Sunday at its premiere in the Nitto Finals ATP.
The Danish tennis player was risking his qualification for the semifinals of the tournament in which he was making his debut, at the age of 20, but it didn’t seem like it. He chained childhood mistakes one after another, before a Sinner relentless, solid and electric. Boris Becker, the Dane’s coach, did not even get up from his chair as is his custom, stunned by what he saw. The Italian was in a hurry and did not think that his victory benefited Djokovic. There were 200 points at stake and leaving the green group as the unbeaten leader.
Change of scenery
But the situation changed in the second set. Rune went to the locker room and came back transformed. The Dane came into play and began to tighten the screws Sinner. He had to bandage his right knee due to some discomfort that did not affect his game in which he maintained equality on the scoreboard until 4-4. Sinner He was more uncomfortable and some discomfort in his lower back affected the end of the set, which the Italian ended up giving up with a break.
Another game was starting. The battle was open. Rune saved a break in a 12 minute game with complaints from the Dane when he protested to the chair umpire for not allowing him to see a point with the hawk’s eye, having requested it after missing the blow. Tension and emotion rose in the Alpitour. No one gave in.
The tie was maintained until 4-4, after Rune will waste a break point to go ahead 5-3. Sinner saved the situation with his serve and responded in the next with a decisive break. He didn’t let the opportunity slip away from him. In the next game and in the first match ball he achieved victory to certify that he is the first Italian to be in the semifinals of the Masters since 1970.
Alcaraz looks for his pass
This Friday the final poster for the semifinals of the ATP Finals will be known. Sinner, Djokovic and Medvedev They will be present and they will compete for the last place Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev. The Murcian tennis player will play his options against Medvedev (2:30 p.m., Movistar). If he beats the Russian he will be in the poker of champions in Turin. If you win in two sets as first in the group and if you need three, as second. In the first case you would face Djokovic in the semifinals, in the second his rival would be Sinner.
Yeah AlcarazFinally, he gives in to the Russian, his last executioner in the semifinals of the US Open, he would be left out of the semifinals as long as Zverev beat Rublev in the night session (8:30 p.m., Movistar). But if the German does not achieve victory either, the pass would be for the Spaniard, since the triple tie at 1-2 with Rublev favors the Spaniard.