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Jannik Sinner moved within two matches of becoming the first man to defend the US Open title in almost 20 years, thrashing fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 on Arthur Ashe.
The world No 1 will face Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime in Friday’s semi-final – where he will once again be a significant favorite.
Sinner, at the moment, is simply too good for the rest of the world. His primacy on hard courts is especially profound: he has won his last 26 Grand Slam matches on hard courts, including three titles across the Australian and US Opens.
Only Carlos Alcaraz, who faces Novak Djokovic in the other semi-final, can stop him.
Jannik Sinner takes the applause of the crowd in New York after his quarterfinal victory
Fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti proved no competition for the dominant world No 1 on Ashe
Musetti said in his pre-match interview he was ready to go out and surprise everybody. A noble sentiment but no one was surprised by the ease of Sinner’s victory. Reaching 4-4 in the second set was as close as Musetti came to making a match of things but Sinner responded with four straight games to kill the contest.
What makes the 23-year-old so good? Like Djokovic did before him, he has distilled tennis down to its purest elements: potent, accurate serving; consistent, deep returning; relentless controlled power from the baseline. No undue elaboration, no unnecessary shotmaking – he just hits the ball purer and cleaner than anyone else.
He also raises his game in the big moments. Musetti – rather absurdly given the balance of play – had more break points. But Sinner saved all seven break points he faced and took five of the six he earned.
Over to you Felix – good luck…you will need it.
