Tsitsipas hammers Sinner to book Australian Open semis spot

A semifinalist in Melbourne in 2019 and 2021, the Greek defeated Italian Sinner 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 at Rod Laver Arena in just over two hours.

Published : Jan 26, 2022 13:33 IST

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates after defeating Jannik Sinner of Italy in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates after defeating Jannik Sinner of Italy in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates after defeating Jannik Sinner of Italy in their quarterfinal match at the Australian Open.

Stefanos Tsitsipas will be hoping it is third time lucky in an Australian Open semifinal following his scintillating performance against Jannik Sinner in the last eight on Wednesday.

The fourth seed, a semifinalist in Melbourne in 2019 and 2021, was stretched to five sets by Taylor Fritz on Monday but showed no signs of fatigue in a match that started in blazing sunshine, but finished under the roof after a storm hit.

The 23-year-old will play the winner of the quarterfinal between Russian Daniil Medvedev and Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime later on Wednesday.

With Melbourne's big Greek population, Tsitsipas has always drawn strong support at the Australian Open and it was the same again in the clash against Sinner.

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"I think my humility helped a lot today. I knew I was going on the court facing a very good player. I tried to focus on my best shots and it paid off more than I thought," he said in his on-court interview.

"Once again, stepping on to that court, having the crowd support, it is truly unbelievable."

A finalist at Roland Garros last year, Tsitsipas was troubled by elbow problems at the end of last season and was concerned he might not be able to play in Australia.

"I am pretty sure my doctor is watching right now. He has been sending me texts after every single game," he said.

"He said 'I don't expect to see you playing in Australia'. But I proved him wrong. I am happy I have found the right man to bring me back even stronger."

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