Jannik Sinner battled past a wrist scare to beat Jack Draper 7-5, 7-6(3), 6-2 in a "very physical" semifinal to become the first Italian man ever to reach the US Open men's singles finals.
The high-voltage clash saw both athletes go toe to toe against each other. The top-seed Sinner was pushed to the brink by the 25th-ranked Draper but the former managed to win the crunch moments and therefore was able to control the tempo of the game.
Sinner landed 42 winners and managed to wear down Draper by attrition. The English tennis sensation lost his might in the latter stages of the contest and lost the third set by a comprehensive margin.
The world No.1 tweaked his left wrist during the second set but was able to stave off Draper who tried to utilize the chink in Sinner's armour.
"Me and Jack know each other very well. We are friends off the court. It was a very physical match as we see and I just tried to stay there mentally," Sinner was quoted as saying by ATP after the hard-fought win. "He is so tough to beat and it is a very special occasion. I am happy to be in the final here."
Sinner is looking like a strong contender and the player to beat in the ongoing major. He won his first career Grand Slam in the form of the Australian Open earlier this year and has become the fifth male athlete to register 22 or more major victories in a season since the turn of the century.
"I am just happy to be in the final. Whoever it is, it is going to be a very tough challenge for me," Sinner added. "I am looking forward to it. Finals are very special days. Every Sunday you play shows you are doing an amazing job, so I will try to keep pushing and I will see what I can do."
