MATCH REPORT | 2024 US Open: Irregular Jannik Sinner survives a resilient Tommy Paul in thrilling encounter

Jannik Sinner defeated Tommy Paul in straight sets 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the US Open. The world No. 1 survived a strong start from the American but began to impose his rhythm to eliminate one of the local favorites.

The Italian achieved a straightforward victory from the scoreline, although his game didn’t fully reflect this in much of the match. A mere 50% of first serves was sufficient this time, although he will need to improve it for the upcoming rounds, especially against his next opponent: Daniil Medvedev.

Tommy Paul (No. 14) started in good form, having saved a couple of break points in the second set. The American got two consecutive breaks and was up 4-1 with the serve in his favor after a weak start from Sinner (No. 1).

Although it seemed everything was in favor of the local with two breaks, Sinner reacted, won 13 of the next 15 points, recovered both breaks, and achieved four consecutive games in his favor, overtaking the local player 5-4. Despite a difficult momentum for Paul, he managed to take everything to the tie-break.

Although Paul served well in the end of the set, Sinner was impeccable on the return and managed to take the set despite having everything against him at the start of the match. The Italian had an irregular set with 21 unforced errors and only 9 winners, but it was enough to win a complicated set.

Nevertheless, Paul kept his composure in the second set with immense support from the crowd. The world No. 14 survived a single break point against him and took everything to the tie-break with a 70% first serve percentage, winning 70% of them. On the other hand, the 2024 Australian Open champion did not have a good first serve percentage with only 43%, although he reached a 93% effectiveness.

In a tie-break that saw mini-breaks on both sides, Paul squandered a slight break advantage, and finally, Sinner showed his class to close the set 7-6(5).

The start of the third set already seemed decided with Paul becoming increasingly erratic, against Sinner with high effectiveness. The Italian took an early break and was up 3-0. Soon after, he secured the second break and gave no chances on his serve. The match concluded 7-6(3), 7-6(5), 6-1 despite a great performance from Paul, which was not reflected in the result.

Sinner will face none other than Daniil Medvedev (5th) in the quarterfinals, the same opponent he defeated in the Australian Open final this year. The Russian emerges as an important contender following the exits of Alcaraz and Djokovic and comes off a straight-sets victory over Nuno Borges.