ROME.- The number 1 in the world, Jannik Sinnersuffered to get rid of the Russian Daniil Medvedev (N.9) at the end of a semi-final that began on Friday and was interrupted by rain, before qualifying for the final of the Rome Masters 1000a tournament of which he is the great favorite.
Sinner, 24, won 6-2, 5-7 and 6-4 to sign his 28th consecutive victory on the circuit ATP and the 33rd in a row, a record, in tournaments of the Masters 1000 (second in importance after Grand Slams).
But this victory, achieved after two hours and 37 minutes of play and spread over two days, could leave consequences ten days from now. Roland Garros (June 24 to June 7), the only Grand Slam missing from his record and his great goal of the year.
“To be honest, it has been a tough and different challenge. At night I normally never have problems sleeping, but last night was not easy because when you are in the third set, you know that you are almost done, and yet you have to go out again and you never know what is going to happen because it is basically a new start of a match. There were nerves,” Sinner admitted after qualifying.
The Italian, who played and won the first four Masters 1000 of the year (Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid), showed worrying signs of fatigue and physical wear and tear on Friday during the second set, before the match was interrupted.
On Sunday, however, he will try to become the first Italian to win the Rome tournament in the men’s category since the victory of Adriano Panatta in 1976.
If he wins and wins his 29th title, the fifth this year, he will become the second player in history, after the Serbian Novak Djokovichaving won the nine Masters 1000 on the calendar.
Next obstacle
His next rival will be the Norwegian Casper Ruud (25th), who had no problem getting his ticket to the final on Saturday, after beating the Italian 6-1 by a double Luciano Darderi (N.20).
This Saturday the name of the champion in the women’s category among the American will be known Coco Gauff (N.4) and the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina (N.10), who compete for the position of successor in the Italian’s track record Jasmine Paolini.
In their previous matches, the Ukrainian veteran dominates the young American 3-2.
