Jannik Sinner clinches Andrey Rublev revenge in Cincinnati quarterfinal rematch

CINCINNATI—For the second time in as many weeks, world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and No. 6 Andrey Rublev faced off in the quarterfinals of a North American hard-court event—but this time, it was the Italian who came out on top at the Cincinnati Open.

Last week, Rublev toppled the top seed and defending champion Sinner at the Omnium National Banque in Montreal, en route to the final. On Saturday, Sinner turned the tables to rally from a set down for a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 victory on Center Court at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

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“It took a lot of mental strength today,” Sinner said in an on-court interview.  "It was very tough conditions, very windy.

“In the first set, he started very well and I didn't play my best tennis. But in the second set, I felt I had a lot of chances. I waited for my chance.”

Sinner, who turned 23 on Friday and received a walkover into the quarterfinal from Jordan Thompson, moved into his fourth ATP Masters 1000 semifinal of the year after Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo.

The extra day of rest proved to be a boon for the Italian, whose stellar season has seen him clinch his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open and his second Masters title in Miami, but also struggle regularly with hip injury and illness. Sinner missed out on participating in the Masters event in Rome due to injury, and later tonsillitis kept him out of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

Rublev, who defeated Brandon Nakashima in straight sets on Friday, came out firing in the first set. The 26-year-old dictated with his serve and powerful groundstrokes, but after Sinner adjusted his return position in the second set the momentum swung in the 23-year-old’s direction.

The wind played a factor throughout the match, with both players combining for 51 unforced errors (28 for Sinner, 23 for Rublev) and 12 doubles faults (five for Sinner, seven for Rublev). But Sinner also hit more than twice as many winners as Rublev—32 to 15—and fired 10 aces to keep himself on track.

Sinner, who led by 5-1 in the third set, had to weather a late surge from Rublev—who broke serve as the top seed attempted to close out the match and went on a three-game run. But Sinner didn’t give him another look at break points, closing out the victory with a wind-affected mishit backhand to power through to the semifinals.

Already the first Italian man to reach this stage in Cincinnati, Sinner awaits the winner of No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 12 Ben Shelton for a place in the final.

More to follow...