Sinner beats Medvedev in seesawing quarter, Draper sees off De Minaur

Top seed Jannik Sinner broke through Daniil Medvedev's defences to win 6-2 1-6 6-1 6-4 in a seesawing US Open quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Sinner beat Medvedev in this year's Australian Open final and left the Russian disappointed at a Grand Slam again in New York, closing out the match at Arthur Ashe Stadium with a forehand winner.

Medvedev, the 2021 champion, had defeated the Italian in the Wimbledon quarterfinals but could not crack the code this time. He did not help his own cause with 57 unforced errors.

“It was very tough, we know each other quite well,” said Sinner. “We knew it was going to be very physical.”

An out-of-sorts Medvedev put up more than double the number of unforced errors his opponent had in the first set, with Sinner dropping only one of his first-serve points and looking ready to cruise to the semis.

The Russian came back hard in the second set, however, going up a break with a backhand winner down the line in the second game and winning a 24-shot rally to convert on another break point chance in the fourth.

The momentum whipped back to Sinner in the next set as the Italian won the first five games straight, leaving TV commentators at a loss for words.

A close fourth set turned in the world number one's favour when Medvedev handed him a break with an unforced forehand error in the seventh game.

The Russian saved one match point to hold serve in the ninth game and exhorted the crowd for support as he walked back to his bench at the changeover.

However, Sinner did not have to wait long for his victory, wrapping up the match in the next game.

The Italian's win means there will be a new US Open champion on the men's side, as Medvedev was the only former winner to reach the quarterfinals in a tournament full of surprise early exits by top contenders.

Sinner will play Britain's Jack Draper next for a place in the final.

Draper beat 10th seed Alex de Minaur 6-3 7-5 6-2 on Wednesday in their quarterfinal to reach his first Grand Slam semi and bolster British hopes of a first men's major singles title since Andy Murray's Wimbledon win in 2016.

Draper, the 25th seed, becomes the first British man to reach the semifinals of the US Open since Murray in 2012, as well as the first Briton to make it to the last four of a Grand Slam since Cameron Norrie at Wimbledon in 2022.

Having beaten unseeded opponents in his four previous matches at Flushing Meadows without dropping a set, Draper faced his biggest test against the Australian, who won their last three meetings.

However, the 22-year-old had little trouble against De Minaur, who was hampered by a hip injury, and cruised to victory in just over two hours to set up a semifinal against either Jannik Sinner or Daniil Medvedev.

“I think I played a solid match. I feel the best fitness-wise I've been in a long, long time and I think that's where Alex has sort of got me in the past,” Draper said in his on-court interview.

“I also think he was struggling a little bit today with something, which may have helped me. Credit to Alex. He's an amazing fighter, an unbelievable player and we're going to have many more battles to come.”

Reuters