Sinner Advances to Cincinnati Open Final Despite Injury

World number one Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev in a grueling semifinal to reach the Cincinnati Open final. Despite hip discomfort, Sinner showcased remarkable resilience and skill, prevailing 7-6(9), 5-7, 7-6(4). He will face Frances Tiafoe in the final, who secured his first ATP Masters 1000 final spot.

World number one tennis star Jannik Sinner marched into the final of the Cincinnati Open, defeating Alexander Zverev in a hard-fought semifinal on Sunday. Despite limping and favoring his troubled hip, Sinner delivered stunning shots to outperform the 2021 champion with scores of 7-6(9), 5-7, 7-6(4) in three hours and seven minutes.

'Sometimes you have to play a bit with the gut feeling. And I think this today was, my strength,' Sinner said in his on-court interview, as quoted by ATP. 'There were some ups and downs, which can happen, especially when you play for more than three hours. It was a good match for both of us. He served very, very well, so I can be very proud,' he added.

Sinner lost the second set and showed signs of discomfort in his hip, making it seem Zverev was in prime position for victory. Nonetheless, the world's top-ranked player produced incredible shots to narrow his head-to-head deficit against Zverev to 2-4. 'It means a lot to me. It's a very different moment for me, so I am very happy about this result. The physical aspect, of course, I have to improve because if I want to win Grand Slams or a bigger title, I have to be in better shape. But I stayed strong mentally, which I am very proud of, and let's see what's coming tomorrow,' said Sinner.

Sinner will next face Frances Tiafoe in the title clash, with Tiafoe having secured his first ATP Masters 1000 final appearance by defeating Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) earlier on Sunday. 'Crazy, crazy. That last set was nuts. It got pretty breezy there at the end so we were just playing the percentages. But yeah, I got really lucky there. I had a couple of net cords, but I also battled. I competed really hard and put myself in a good position,' Tiafoe said post-match.

Following his win, Tiafoe climbed to the number 20 spot in the ATP Rankings. For the first time since February 1997, there will be five Americans in the top 20 when the rankings are released, with Taylor Fritz, Sebastian Korda, Tommy Paul, and Ben Shelton joining Tiafoe. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)