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Jannik Sinner overcomes his injury and reaches the final of the Cincinnati Masters, while Francis Tiafoe ends his ten-year wait

Despite persistent hip problems, Italian world number one Jannik Sinner defeated German Alexander Zverev 7:6(9), 5:7, 7:6(4) on Sunday and reached the final of the Cincinnati Open, where he will face Frances Tiafoe.

Australian Open winner Sinner, who leads the ATP Tour with four titles this season, limped at times and was also resting his right hip, but he gave it his all and defeated the 2021 Cincinnati winner in three hours and seven minutes.

“It means a lot to me. This is a very different moment that I am going through right now, so I am very happy with this result,” Sinner said in an interview on the pitch.

“Of course I have to improve physically because if I want to win Grand Slams or a bigger title I definitely have to be in better shape.

“But I just tried to stay there mentally, which I'm very proud of, and let's see what tomorrow brings.”

Zverev was three points away from serving through the first set, but Sinner managed to break to 5:5 before it went to a rain-interrupted tiebreak in which the Italian won his third set point with a backhand volley.

The players exchanged early breaks in the second set, but German world number four Zverev held serve to zero, took a 6-5 lead and equalized in the next game when Sinner netted a forehand smash.

Neither player managed a break point in a hard-fought deciding set that required a tiebreak, where Sinner took control, giving up just one point on his serve and deciding the match when Zverev hit a backhand long.

In the other semi-final, unseeded Tiafoe beat Danish number 15 Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) to reach the most important final of his career.

Rune made the only break of the first set, taking a 5-4 lead and then served out the whole set before Tiafoe stormed through the second stanza in 25 minutes and forced a deciding set.

The Dane quickly built up a 5-2 lead, but Tiafoe followed up a routine serve with a break to nil and then fended off two match points on his serve to level at 5-5.

The players went into a tiebreak, which ended when Rune sent a shot that was too wide.

With the win, Tiafoe becomes the first American to reach the final since John Isner in 2013.

Reuters

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