ATP Indian Wells: Jannik Sinner dethrones Taylor Fritz

Jannik Sinner, a 21-year-old Italian, has advanced to his first Masters 1000 semi-final in almost two years after defeating Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals of the Indian Wells tournament. Sinner sought revenge for his previous defeat by Fritz two years ago, and he succeeded in taking the trophy away from the home favorite. Despite Fritz hitting almost 30 service winners, he couldn’t keep up with Sinner, who stayed on a 28-38 ratio and served well in the decider. Sinner broke Fritz twice from three chances offered and seized three out of nine opportunities to secure the victory.

Sinner was able to dominate Fritz in the advanced rallies with nine strokes or more, taming his strokes nicely and emerging over the top. He forced Taylor’s mistake in the first game to seize an early advantage and saved a break point in the second game with a mighty forehand. Sinner served for the set at 5-4 and held at love with an ace to wrap up the encounter’s first part in 48 minutes.

In the second set, they stayed neck and neck in the opening nine games, with nothing for the returners except for a couple of points. Fritz moved 5-4 in front with a hold at 30 and forced Sinner to serve to stay in the set. The nerves started to show up, and Sinner faced two set points after netting a routine forehand. Fritz seized the first with a forehand down the line winner to introduce a decider and gain a boost.

They traded breaks at the start of the final set, and Fritz found himself 40-0 down in game three. The American saved all three break points and grabbed five straight points to bring the game home and avoid another upset. However, Sinner pushed strong on the return and broke the defending champion at 15 to serve for the victory at 5-4. He held at love with a service winner to set the semi-final clash with world no. 2 Carlos Alcaraz.