Top seed Sinner won the opening set in a tight tiebreak after saving a set point but mistakes began to creep into his game and after losing the second set he needed treatment off the court early in the third after apparently feeling ill.
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev edged out world No.1 Jannik Sinner in a grinding five-set battle to reach the Wimbledon semi-finals for the second successive year on Tuesday.
A strange match full of momentum shifts and lulls was absorbing rather than gripping but Medvedev did not care as he triumphed 6-7, (7/9) 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3 on a covered Centre Court.
It snapped Medvedev’s five-match losing sequence against Sinner and avenged his bitter defeat by the Italian in this year’s Australian Open final when he squandered a two-set lead.
Top seed Sinner won the opening set in a tight tiebreak after saving a set point but mistakes began to creep into his game and after losing the second set he needed treatment off the court early in the third after apparently feeling ill.
Despite losing the third-set tiebreak, Sinner was rejuvenated in the fourth and sent the match into a decider.
Russian Medvedev got the early break, though, and held firm to win in four hours and set up a clash with either defending champion Carlos Alcaraz or American Tommy Paul.
Vekic shines against Sun
Meanwhile, experienced Croatian Donna Vekic ended Lula Sun’s extraordinary Wimbledon journey on a damp Tuesday, battling past New Zealand’s 123rd-ranked qualifier 5-7 6-4 6-1 to reach her maiden Grand Slam singles semi-final on her 43rd main draw appearance.
Victory also meant Vekic became only the second woman from her country to reach the All England Club semi-finals, matching the feat of Mirjana Lucic in 1999. But it was not entirely smooth sailing for the unseeded 28-year-old.
“It was a really tough match. She played unbelievable. She pushed me to my limits,” said Vekic.
“I felt like I was dying out there the first two sets. My chance came in the end.” Vekic, who previously said she nearly quit the sport after issues with form and fitness after knee surgery in 2021, broke into tears on court as she acknowledged her team’s efforts.
“I have a full box of people and without them I would not be here,” she said. Sun saved three break points under the Court No.1 roof and broke for a crucial 6-5 advantage before digging herself out of a hole again to seize the opening set on serve with the most delicate of drop shots.
The left-hander surrendered her serve in the eighth game of the second set before Vekic made a flurry of double faults while serving for the set, only to regain composure and draw level in the match with another break.
She produced a deft drop shot of her own on set point as Sun appeared a shadow of her former self as the match wore on.
The clash turned on its head when world No.37 Vekic broke in the third set after a double fault from Sun’s racket, and the former Australian Open and US Open quarter-finalist quickly pulled away for a 5-0 lead.
She duly settled the contest on serve to dash Sun’s hopes of becoming the first female qualifier to make the Wimbledon semi-finals since American Alexandra Stevenson 25 years ago.
The battling victory was the perfect reward for Vekic’s persistence on the grandest stage.
Reuters
