Defending champion Jannik Sinner has put to bed any concern about his health after demolishing Australia’s Alex de Minaur in straight sets to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
The world No.1 extended his perfect record against eighth-seeded de Minaur to 10 matches on Wednesday night, cruising to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 victory in only one hour and 48 minutes.
Jannik Sinner plays a backhand during the first set against Alex de Minaur.Credit: Paul Rovere
The result followed two days of speculation about Sinner’s health after he visibly struggled in the heat in his four-set win over Holger Rune in the previous round, including dizzy spells and trembling hands.
He revealed after the Rune match that he was dealing with an illness before going on court, and subsequently had a “very easy” day on Tuesday ahead of the de Minaur clash.
“After the match against Holger, we [did] some blood tests, and they were all good,” Sinner said.
“Sometimes, it can happen that you just feel not that well on that day. Today, I woke up feeling much, much better. I told my team straightaway that I’m feeling good [for] tonight.
“Obviously, playing not with the heat helps you, especially when you are not feeling that well, but today I felt well already in the morning… I’m still not perfect, but I’m not concerned.”
There was heightened hope that de Minaur could cause an upset if Sinner was not at optimal health, but the languid Italian was in devastating form in his best performance of the fortnight.
Sinner crushed 27 winners to de Minaur’s 10, committed fewer unforced errors (19-26), and dropped a meagre 10 points on serve for the match.
He will face American Ben Shelton on Friday as he bids to reach consecutive finals at Melbourne Park, while 10-time champion Novak Djokovic and No.2 seed Alex Zverev will meet in the other semi-final.
Sinner broke de Minaur’s serve early and often in each set. His ability to stave off the sole break point he faced in the second game of the second set thwarted the Australian’s chances of remaining competitive.
“I felt like today was a very great match from my side. I served very well [and] breaking quite early in each set was very important for me, and for my game,” Sinner said. “For sure, it was the best match of the tournament so far [for me].”
The decisive defeat was a reality check for de Minaur, who conceded that Sinner was his “worst match-up” and that the loss felt like he had been “slapped across the face”.
“In these types of [cooler] conditions, it’s even tougher to play against him,” de Minaur said “You go out there, you compete – you try everything. You bring every sort of different look that you can.
Alex de Minaur in action in his quarter final match against Jannik Sinner.Credit: Chris Hopkins
“But in these types of conditions, where it’s a little bit colder, and you can’t really get the ball out of his strike zone, he can just unload and not miss. It’s tough.
“I think if we’re playing in the middle of the day on a stupidly hot day, then that’s when you can see some errors come out, and that’s when you probably see Jannik not play at his best. But conditions like today, it’s tough to rattle him at all.”
De Minaur likened the Sinner defeat to his fourth-round loss to Djokovic at the Australian Open two years ago, when he won only five games off the eventual champion.
“[Sinner]’s got this top level that he can do this to players, so it’s pretty tough,” he said. “You go into the match, and you know it’s going to be a battle, it’s going to be tough, you’re going to try different things.
“But then you’re an hour and 30 in, and you’re struggling to win games, and you’re trying to find ways to get on the board.”
It was still a career-best Australian Open for de Minaur, who has now made the quarter-finals at every grand slam. He will remain at No.8 in the rankings unless Shelton wins the title, and said he would return to Melbourne “stronger” next year.
“I thought I handled [the pressure and expectation] really well to put myself in this position. I would have loved to do more today, but this is what happens sometimes in tennis,” de Minaur said.
“The negative is after playing some great tennis on home soil and gaining so much, you feel like you just have been slapped across the face, to be honest, to finish off like that.
“[But] I’ll survive. I’ll keep improving. And if anything, I just need to sit with my team and figure out a way to hurt Jannik on the court … because at the moment, we don’t have it. So back to the drawing board, like I’ve done my whole career.
“I still think I’ve got more in the tank, so I’ll be searching for that.”
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