Jannik Sinner played through the heat and humidity of a New York night to reach his second Grand Slam final of the season with a 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-2 defeat of Jack Draper on Friday at the US Open.
The laboured victory in three hours gives the Italian his chance at a second major title of the season after winning the Australian Open in January.
Sinner will await a Sunday opponent as Americans Frances Tiafoe and Taylor Fritz meet in the second semi.
He has split 1-1 with Fritz and has beaten Tiafoe on four of five occasions.
Sinner vomited on court and was clearly feeling ill from the second set onwards.
Sinner’s win was his 10th in a row after claiming last month’s Cincinnati tuneup title. He is the first Italian man to ever reach the New York final.
Corrado Barazzutti (1977, loss to Jimmy Connors) and Matteo Berrettini (lost to Rafael Nadal in 2019) were the only previous Italians to play in the final four al here.
The top seed leads the Tour with 34 hard court wins in 2024 and has lost just once to a player ranked outside the Top 10 this season.
“It was a very physical match,” Sinner said. ‘I tried to stay there mentally, Jack is so tough to beat.
“It was a special occasion today, I’m happy to be in the final here.
“It’s an American in the final and either one of them will be a tough challenge t for me.
“This season has been very positive and finals are special days.
“If you are still playing on Sunday you are doing an amazing job.
“I will just keep pushing and see what I can do on Sunday.”
Sinner needed nearly an hour to seize the first set and hand Draper his first loss of a set over the fortnight.
The Italian broke for 4-3 only to drop his own serve a game later. But the Brit was broken again as he gave away the 11th game with a double-fault, opening the door for his opponent to serve out the opener on his first chance.
The score stayed tight in the second set in the brutal, humid conditions, Draper vomited briefly on the court in the eighth game but cleaned it up himself as Sinner levelled for 4-4.
The top seed had an injury scare in the ninth game as he got tangled in his feet after a point and braced himself with his left hand.
At the changeover both he and Draper were seen by physios, with the Brit given tablets, presumably for his stomach. The trainer manipulated the Sinner wrist and sent him back out onto court without a taping – a good sign.
Sinner went on to take a two-sets-to love lead as he won his 198th tiebreak of the season to secure the set after nearly two and a half hours of play.
The Italian began the third set with a love game and broke for a 4-2 lead as he punished Draper by sending a short ball down the line and out of reach of the tiring Brit, fast running out of puff.
Sinner wrapped up the win as he produced a love game for 5-2 and broke Draper moments later to end the agony for the 22-year-old who will rise to the top 20 for the first time.
