Jannik Sinner clashed with Grigor Dimitrov in the 1st quarterfinal of the 2024 French Open today. This is the 5th meeting between these top 10 players and at the end of the encounter, it was Jannik Sinner’s 4th consecutive victory over the Bulgarian in five meetings.
This year’s French Open tournament marks Jannik Sinner’s 3rd Grand Slam semifinal and an opportunity to add a 2nd title to his growing trophy cabinet. Later in the day, Carlos Alcaraz would take on Stefano Tsitsipas in the 2nd quarterfinal of the day, vying for who’d qualify to take on Sinner in the semifinal.
Jannik Sinner Has A Fast Start
After a love hold from Grigor Dimitrov in the 1st game of the 1st set, Jannik Sinner flipped the switch on the Bulgarian and broke his serve two games later. He consolidated his serve, then quickly stormed to another break of Dimitrov’s serve to lead the 1st set 4-1.
Jannik Sinner held on to serve out the 1st set 6-2. Sinner went on to show why he was going to be the new world number one by putting up an excellent return game to break Dimitrov’s serve in the 1st game of the 2nd set. Both players remained on serve till Sinner served out the set 6-4.
Dimitrov’s Tenacity Returns In The 3rd Set
In the 1st two sets, the Italian didn’t face a single break point from the Bulgarian. Dimitrov produced his 1st breakpoint in the 2nd game of the 3rd set. This came after he had saved break points to avoid starting the 3rd set a break down again.
Both players stayed on serve and with the 3rd set’s score at 4-4, it was looking highly likely that a tiebreak was on the cards. Just then, a double fault and a few unforced errors after and Dimitrov had gifted Jannik Sinner a break to lead 5-4.
The next game was Jannik Sinner’s turn to put up a series of errors and gift Dimitrov an instant break back to tie the set at 55. It eventually went to a tiebreak and the Italian won. The match lasted two hours and 29 minutes.
What Djokovic’s Withdrawal Means
Djokovic has withdrawn from Roland-Garros due to a right knee injury.
Wishing Novak a speedy recovery 🧡 pic.twitter.com/Ilb6HynTzw
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2024
Novak Djokovic succeeded in overcoming a knee injury, which he sustained in the 3rd game of the 4th set against Francisco Cerundolo, to defeat the Argentine in five sets and almost five hours.
During the post-match press conference, he confessed that during the match, he had considered retiring due to the injury and granting Cerundolo the win. He also stated that he had been on medication which kicked in in the 4th set, at about the time he miraculously began to retrieve the match from the Argentine.
The defending champion won’t be able to defend his title as the injury has finally forced him to withdraw from the tournament. With Jannik Sinner winning his quarterfinal clash against Grigor Dimitrov and Djokovic no longer in the tournament, the Italian is guaranteed to become the new world number one when the new ATP rankings are released after the tournament.
Note:
With Djokovic withdrawing from the French Open, Casper Ruud, who was billed to be his quarterfinal opponent tomorrow, has gotten an automatic bye into the semifinal.
This year’s French Open final would be the first French Open final since 2010 that won’t feature one of Rafael Nadal and/or Novak Djokovic. It would be the first since 2005 that won’t feature one of Nadal, Djokovic, and/or Roger Federer.
Also Read: Breaking: French Open Favorite Withdraws From Tournament Due To Knee Injury
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Ebenezer has been an avid writer for over a decade and a half. Within that period, he has garnered experience in various fields such as editing, graphics design, transcribing, sales, data analysis, and football management. He’s also the author of the mystery thriller novel “The Eye of Ra.” For more articles by Ebenezer Ugorji, click here and here!
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