(Los Angeles) Italian Jannik Sinner, world number 1, defeated German Alexander Zverev (number 4) in three sets 7-6 (11-9), 5-7, 7-6 on Sunday in the semi-final of the Cincinnati Masters 1000, a warm-up tournament for the US Open.
Sinner suffered against a Zverev he had beaten only once in five matches, in 2020 at Roland-Garros.
But, at the end of an intense and hard-fought match, he managed to pull through, notably saving two set points in the first set tiebreaker, a tiebreaker that was temporarily interrupted by rain while Sinner was leading 3-2.
He becomes the first Italian to qualify for the final in Cincinnati and will play his fifth career Masters 1000 final, his second this year after his victory in Miami last March.
Sinner, who turned 23 on Friday, will face the winner of the other semi-final, between Denmark’s Holger Rune (No. 16) and America’s Frances Tiafoe (No. 27), in the final.