Rome, May 16: Jannik Sinner played through exhaustion and maintained his focus overnight to beat Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 when their rain-delayed semifinal resumed on Saturday to extend his winning streak to 28 matches and set up an Italian Open final against Casper Ruud.
The top-ranked Sinner is one victory away from becoming only the second man after Novak Djokovic to win all nine Masters 1000 titles.
Rome is the only event in the Master series – the biggest outside the Grand Slams – that Sinner hasn’t won.
Djokovic won each Masters event at least twice.
Earlier on Friday on the red clay of the Foro Italico, Ruud maintained his focus during a nearly two-hour rain delay to rout home player Luciano Darderi 6-1, 6-1.
Next up for Sinner after Rome comes the French Open, which is the only Grand Slam he hasn’t won. (AP)
