MIAMI: World number three Jannik Sinner will face defending champion Daniil Medvedev in the semi-finals of the Miami Open — a tantalising rematch of the Australian Open final won by Sinner and last year’s Miami title match.

Sinner moved into the last four in emphatic style on Wednesday, beating Czech Tomas Machac 6-4, 6-2 before third seed Medvedev overcame a stern test against Chilean Nicolas Jarry before emerging with a 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) win.

Sinner had to fight back from two sets down at Melbourne Park in January to beat Medvedev and capture his first Grand Slam title.

“It’s going to be a tactical match, potentially,” second seed Sinner told reporters. “I have to be ready if he starts off in a similar way as in Australia. I have to be ready and trying to understand it before. Then maybe he’s going to change a couple of things. It’s going to be an interesting test for me.”

The opening set of the first quarter-final played in humid conditions hinged on a Machac service game at 3-3 where the unseeded Czech’s forehand missed its target on break point to give Sinner a 4-3 lead.

The Italian wrapped up the set with a love hold when Machac was unable to put a second serve back in play.

In the second set, Machac’s forehand sailed long to give Sinner the break and a 2-1 lead. Sinner broke again with a backhand winner for 4-1 and closed out the contest with a serve out wide.

“I didn’t exactly know what to expect today,” Sinner said after his 20th win of the year. “The first games I was looking a little bit what kind of tactics could work or not ... Today I played good, especially in the important moments of the match.”

Sinner has lost only one match this year, falling in the semi-finals of Indian Wells to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Defending Miami champion Medvedev will represent another tricky test as the Russian has been in imperious form in the tournament, reaching the semis without dropping a set.

He was pushed hard in the second set of his encounter with Chilean Jarry but came through in the tiebreak, clinching on his third match point.

“The first set I feel like I was playing a good level, nothing like extra, and it was enough to win,” Medvedev said.

“Tough rallies and tough points. He served better and it was a matter of a few points on the tiebreak, like it is sometimes in tennis... Happy that I managed to win.”

Medvedev looked ahead to a great challenge against Sinner.

“He’s playing better and better. He’s confident. Even some matches I watch on TV and he’s in a little trouble he manages to find solutions and that’s what champions do,” Medvedev added.

Medvedev ran away with the first set against Jarry, who was slow out of the blocks.

But the second set was a different story with the Chilean, roared on by heavily Latin American crowd, finding his big serve.

The pair were inseparable, with plenty of entertaining rallies, until the tiebreaker.

Medvedev missed a chance to win the match at 6-5 up when he came to the net for a routine conversion on match point but found the net — prompting a huge roar from the Chilean fans.

A thumping ace from Jarry made it 7-7 but it was followed with a poor effort which flew long and then on the third match point Medvedev wrapped up the win.

ALEXANDROVA’S MAGIC CONTINUES

On the women’s side, Ekaterina Alexandrova backed up her win over world number one Iga Swiatek with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 upset of fifth seed Jessica Pegul to reach the Miami Open semi-finals for the first time.

Alexandrova let out a triumphant roar when Pegula’s forehand landed in the net to end the two-hour contest.

“This one was incredible,” Alexandrova said. “It was so difficult to play this match to the end and win. It’s the biggest achievement for me on this court and semi-final is a great bonus.”

After getting off to a slow start, Alexandrova found her rhythm from the baseline in the second set and finished the match with 40 winners.

The 14th seed from Russia will next face American Danielle Collins, who kept her hopes of winning a title in her farewell season alive by beating French 23rd seed Caroline Garcia 6-3, 6-2 earlier in the day.

“I think it’s going to be difficult,” Alexandrova said of facing Collins for the first time. “There’s no easy match here and the further you go, the tougher the matches. I’m hoping it will be a good one.”

Collins, who announced in January that she would retire from professional tennis at the end of this season, won 90% of her first serve points against Garcia. She never faced a break point and converted three of her eight break-point chances.

The victory, sealed in a tidy 80 minutes, marked the first time Collins has won five consecutive matches on the WTA Tour since the 2022 Australian Open where she reached her first Grand Slam final.

“She has had an incredible run and incredible couple of months,” Collins said of Alexandrova. “It’s been great to see how her game has evolved over the years, and the way that she’s been playing has been really exciting.”

Published in Dawn, March 29th, 2024