Jannik Sinner Reaches Semifinals at Indian Wells
Jannik Sinner has reached his third semifinal at Indian Wells, his 14th in a Masters 1000, and for a place in the final he will face German Alexander Zverev, who beat Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-3. The meeting with Learner Tien in the quarterfinals was a good gauge of his condition, after the challenging match with the talented Brazilian Fonseca.
Sinner’s Dominant Performance
And the world number 2 brilliantly passed the test of the American, another young talent on the ATP circuit. At times the sun in his eyes bothered him more, as evidenced by the result: 6-1, 6-2 in an hour and 7 minutes of play. “Experience helps, you try to prepare as best you can. Tien is a very talented player. At the beginning he was very aggressive. For me it was an important match” declared Sinner in the on-field interview. The Californian heat remains a problem “and I did very long training sessions to keep the pitch. It’s an area I’m trying to improve, given the problems I had in Australia”.
Key Statistics and Next Match
“Starting both sets with a break certainly helps. I’m happy with how I played – he added – The next match will be very difficult against Alexander”. In Sinner’s balance sheet, ten aces in total, one double fault (against Tien’s five), 83% of points won on the first serve and five out of four successful break points. The first set – which lasted just half an hour – went one-way, with the South Tyrolean doing well to break his opponent’s serve twice, in the second and sixth game. Sinner responded blow for blow, defending himself with order when Tien’s speed forced him to, but mostly holding the initiative solidly.
Match Turning Point
Six aces completed the blue’s repertoire. At the start of the second set, Tien held serve and then had two break points to take a 2-0 lead, but an error and Sinner’s seventh aces rejected him. It was the turning point of the match, also because at 1-1 the American took a 40-0 lead, but suffered the third break after taking advantage. Which the blue immediately consolidated and then reiterated for the 4-1. For a few games already, the American seemed to suffer from a muscle problem in his right thigh, perhaps due to less mobility, but he still took the lead 5-2. Sinner served with the chance to close the match and did not miss his goal.
Read more about Jannik Sinner’s performance at Indian Wells Here