Jannik Sinner advanced to his first US Open semi-final on Wednesday, edging closer to securing his second Grand Slam title of 2024. In the quarter-finals, Sinner overcame Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, with a score of 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Sinner, who is 23, will face 25th-ranked Jack Draper, who reached his first Grand Slam semi-final with a 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 victory over Australia’s Alex de Minaur.
Sinner is the only top-10 male player remaining, with Taylor Fritz, ranked 12th, set to compete against US compatriot Frances Tiafoe, ranked 20th, in the other semi-final.
In the women’s draw, sixth-ranked Jessica Pegula reached her first Grand Slam semi-final by defeating world number one Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4. Pegula will face Karolina Muchova, who defeated Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil 6-1, 6-4.
The other women’s semi-final will feature Emma Navarro from the US against world number two Aryna Sabalenka, the Australian Open champion.
– ‘Very physical’ –
“It was very tough, I knew it would be very physical,” said Sinner, who had also beaten Medvedev to capture the Australian Open.
“It was strange in the first two sets, whoever got the break started to roll.”
Medvedev had to save 10 of 15 break points while his dream of making a 10th Slam semi-final was undermined by 57 unforced errors.
Draper pulled off the victory over 10th-ranked De Minaur despite taking a medical timeout early in the second set to have his right thigh bandaged.
“It’s amazing. My first time on Arthur Ashe Stadium, it means the world to me,” said Draper, who had lost three times in three meetings with De Minaur before Wednesday.
“I played a solid match and I feel the best, fitness-wise, that I have felt in a long time.”
Jack Draper is the first British man to reach the US Open semi-finals since Andy Murray won the title 12 years ago. Draper has achieved this milestone without dropping a set, continuing an impressive summer that included his first ATP title in Stuttgart and a victory over Carlos Alcaraz at Queen’s Club.
In his quarter-final match, Draper hit 11 aces among his 40 winners and pressured Alex de Minaur with 14 break points out of 20. Draper holds a 1-0 lead in their head-to-head record, with their previous encounter at Queen’s three years ago.
Jessica Pegula has now won 14 of her last 15 matches on US hard courts this summer. “Finally, I can say I’m a semi-finalist. I lost so many of these damn things,” Pegula said after securing her fourth career win against Iga Swiatek. Before this victory, she had been defeated six times at the quarter-final stage of Grand Slam tournaments.
“I was so tight,” Swiatek said. “Thanks to the crowd. I sent over a 65mph second serve on a third match point because of the pressure.”
Swiatek struggled with 41 unforced errors and will reflect on a mixed Grand Slam season. She achieved a high with her fourth French Open title but faced early exits at the Australian Open and Wimbledon. At the Paris Olympics, held on her favored Roland Garros courts, she only managed to secure a bronze medal.
“It’s hard to have low expectations when everyone expects so much from you,” Swiatek noted.
Karolína Muchova’s win over Beatriz Haddad Maia was notable not only for the result but also for an unexpected interruption early in the second set when she had to sprint to the bathroom. “I had a problem I’d rather not discuss,” the 28-year-old explained. “I really had no other choice.”
After losing to Coco Gauff in the 2023 semi-finals, Muchova suffered a serious wrist injury that kept her sidelined until June this year. Now ranked 52nd, she has yet to drop a set this season, having defeated former champion Naomi Osaka and this year’s French Open and Wimbledon runner-up, Jasmine Paolini.
