Stefanos Tsitsipas eyes a place in the final of the Australian Open. Credit: Instagram/Stefanos TsitsipasStefanos Tsitsipas put a flawless performance to defeat Italian Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4 6-2 on Wednesday and advance to his third Australian Open semifinal.
The Greek champion improves could face a rematch of last year’s Aussie Open semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, if the Russian beats Felix Auger-Aliassime later on Wednesday.
Statement made ‼️
🇬🇷 @steftsitsipas puts in a flawless performance to defeat Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-4 6-2 and advance to his third #AusOpen semifinal.#AO2022 pic.twitter.com/oEHvMtsDRB
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2022
“I proved him wrong.”
A message for Dr. Frank 😉
#AusOpen • #AO2022 • #Aointerview pic.twitter.com/q96QaQ2XAP
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 26, 2022
“Jannik is a very good player. So I tried to focus on my best shots and it paid off more than I thought,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “I am very, very happy with the way I served today and the way I came in and used my tactics in today’s match structure. Having the crowd support is truly unbelievable.”
Heavy rain forced a 20-minute delay as the roof was closed and the court dried.
“It is part of the game,” Tsitsipas said on the roof closing. “I knew I was heading towards the right direction with the game I managed to create from the start of the match. The conditions changed when the roof was closed, slightly faster. I tried to adapt to these new conditions and it just worked.”
Tsitsipas will now await the winner of the match between Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime—the night-session opener in Laver. The opposite men’s semi-final will see sixth seed Rafael Nadal take on Italy’s Matteo Berrettini, with both matches scheduled for Friday in Melbourne.
Tsitsipas hopes to go a step further in Australian Open this year
Tsitsipas hopes to go better than his previous performance at the Australian Open where he reached the semi-finals in 2021.
Tsitsipas started his 2021 Australian Open campaign with a comfortable straight sets win over Gilles Simon, before surviving a five-set thriller with Thanasi Kokkinakis.
He then beat Mikael Ymer in straight sets before being given over a walkover by an injured Matteo Berrettini.
In the quarterfinals, Tsitsipas became only the second player along with Fabio Fognini at the 2015 US Open to beat Rafael Nadal in a grand slam match from two sets to love down.