French Open: Jannik Sinner reaches semi-final, becomes world number one
What's the story
Italy's Jannik Sinner reached the 2024 French Open semi-final after beating 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov. Sinner claimed a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(3) victory in the men's singles quarter-finals in over two hours. Sinner, the 2024 Australian Open champion, has qualified for his maiden Roland Garros semi-final. Sinner has become the new world number one, with Novak Djokovic pulling out of the tournament due to injury.
Stats
A look at match stats
Sinner won a total of 110 points and 29 winners throughout the match. He served eight aces compared to Dimitrov's five. The Italian had a win percentage of 81 and 64 in the first and second serves, respectively. He won 12 of his 17 net points. Dimitrov (49) had more unforced errors than Sinner (20). The former registered five double-faults.
Highlights
Notable highlights from the match
Sinner breezed past Dimitrov by breaking twice in the first set. Although the latter responded strongly in the second set, Sinner prevailed eventually. The third set was neck-to-neck, with both Sinner and Dimitrov holding their serves. Both of them broke toward before it went into the tie-break. Sinner was at his best after leveling it 2-2.
Ranking
Sinner becomes world number one
As mentioned, Sinner has climbed to the top of the ATP Rankings. He reached the summit after Djokovic withdrew from the ongoing major. It was earlier reported that Sinner will become the top-ranked man if Djokovic does not reach the French Open semi-finals. As per Opta, Sinner is the first Italian player to top the ATP Rankings since they were published in 1973.
Form
Sinner has been in fine form
Sinner claimed the 2024 Australian Open title after beating Daniil Medvedev in a high-voltage final. He scripted a comeback from two sets down and eventually won 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to lift his maiden Grand Slam trophy. Ahead of the 2024 French Open, Sinner gave a walkover to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Madrid Masters quarter-finals. The former is 33-2 in the season.
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A unique feat for Sinner
As per Opta, Sinner has become the youngest player to win their first four Grand Slam matches of the season against the top-10 players since Jim Courier in 1992.
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Fourth Italian man with this record
According to ATP, Sinner has become just the fourth Italian man to reach the semi-finals at the French Open. Adriano Panatta, Corrado Barazzutti, and Marco Cecchinato are the only other Italian men with this feat.