Jannik Sinner in action at US Open© AFP

World number one Jannik Sinner and former champion Daniil Medvedev set up a US Open quarter-final showdown on Monday as both men look to exploit the hole left by the shock exits of Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. Australian Open champion Sinner made the last eight for the second time by seeing off US 14th seed Tommy Paul 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (7/5), 6-1. Medvedev, the 2021 champion and runner-up to Djokovic last year, outclassed Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals for the fifth time in six years.

Women’s world number one Iga Swiatek, meanwhile, stayed on course for a sixth Grand Slam title with a straight-sets win over Russia’s Liudmila Samsonova.

The Italian Sinner recovered from 4-1 down in the first set to see off Paul, who had been hoping to join compatriots Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe in the quarter-finals in New York.

“It will be another tough match with Daniil. There will be a lot of rallies so I have to be ready physically,” said Sinner.

Medvedev is the only former champion left after the first week defeats of four-time winner Djokovic and 2022 champion Alcaraz.

The world number five easily downed 34th-ranked Borges, whose challenge fizzled out under the weight of 51 unforced errors while Medvedev broke serve eight times.

Sinner and Medvedev will be meeting for the fourth time this year.

Sinner came back from two sets to love down to defeat the mercurial Russian in the Australian Open final and came out on top in the Miami semi-finals.

Medvedev then triumphed at Wimbledon in a five-set quarter-final.

“I will try to think more about Wimbledon than the Australian Open,” said Medvedev.

“With Jannik, I feel like we know our games, what we will try to bring to the table, and then it comes to always this moment’s deuce, breakpoint, maybe try to surprise him or not, what he will do, what I will do.”

Draper hails ‘icon’ Murray

Jack Draper became the first British man since Andy Murray in 2016 to reach the quarter-finals by seeing off Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

The 22-year-old left-hander has only dropped serve once over four matches on his way to a maiden Slam quarter-final, winning 47 of 48 service games and saving 20 of 21 break points.

Draper hailed the influence of Murray, the former world number one and 2012 US Open champion who retired from tennis following the Paris Olympics.

“He’s a legend and an icon and if I have half the career that he had I will be a happy man,” said the 25th seed, who goes on to face Alex de Minaur.

The 10th-seeded De Minaur won an all-Australian battle with Jordan Thompson 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Four-time French Open winner Swiatek, the 2022 champion in New York, celebrated her 100th Grand Slam match by cantering to a 6-4, 6-1 win over 16th-ranked Samsonova.

The Pole will take on American sixth seed Jessica Pegula for a place in the semi-finals.

“There will be some long rallies and intense hitting,” predicted Swiatek of facing Pegula, who she also beat in the quarter-finals on her way to the title two years ago.

Pegula made the last eight for the second time with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Russia’s Diana Shnaider.

Beatriz Haddad Maia became the first Brazilian woman to reach the quarter-finals since Maria Bueno in 1968 when she defeated 2014 runner-up Caroline Wozniacki.

The 22nd-ranked left-hander converted a third match point to defeat the former world number one 6-2, 3-6, 6-3.

She will next face 2023 semi-finalist Karolina Muchova, who knocked out French Open and Wimbledon runner-up Jasmine Paolini, the fifth seed, 6-3, 6-3.

Muchova, ranked 52 and who only returned to the tour in June after 10 months out with a wrist injury, has yet to drop a set and knocked out two-time champion Naomi Osaka in the second round.

Carlos Alcaraz lifts the Wimbledon 2024 title after beating Novak Djokovic in straight sets in the final.© AFP

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Daniil Medvedev 6-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 in the men’s singles semifinal of the Wimbledon 2024 to enter the title-decider on Friday. Alcaraz had a nervy beginning, losing the first set to the Russian Medvedev by a narrow margin before truly getting into his game to win the next three sets. The Spaniard, who is the World No. 3 at the moment, would look to retain the Wimbledon title he won last year.

With his progression to the final, Alcaraz registered a giant feat to his name. Since the ATP rankings were first published in 1973, the Spanish ace has become the youngest player to achieve ATP top five wins on all three courts — grass, clay and hard — in consecutive seasons (2023-24). 

In the final, Alcaraz will face either seven-time champion Novak Djokovic or Lorenzo Musetti for the title on Sunday.

In the semi-final, twice Medvedev led with breaks in the first set only to be pinned back by Alcaraz.

Such was his frustration that he was handed a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct by umpire Eva Asderaki for an apparent foul-mouthed reaction to a ball called for bouncing twice as he was broken in the ninth game.

The tournament referee was even summoned to Centre Court by Asderaki, but Medvedev shrugged off the incident to sweep through the tie-break and take the opening set in which he committed only eight unforced errors to the Spaniard’s 15.

It was the third time at this year’s Wimbledon that Alcaraz had dropped the first set.

Alcaraz recovered impressively, breaking Medvedev for a 3-1 lead in the second having come out on top in the previous game on the back of a 27-shot rally.

The 21-year-old then hit 14 winners in the third set, pocketing the only break in the third game.

Medvedev, who had knocked out world number one Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals, retrieved a break early in the fourth set.

But Alcaraz kept up his assault, edging ahead again for 4-3 on his way to victory.

With AFP Inputs

Rohit Sharma at Wimbledon© X (Twitter)

Carlos Alcaraz in action during Wimbledon 2024© AFP

Carlos Alcaraz raced into the Wimbledon third round on Wednesday to set up a mouth-watering duel with fellow crowd-pleaser Frances Tiafoe as Japanese superstar Naomi Osaka returned to Centre Court for the first time in five years. Alcaraz defeated Australia’s world number 69 Aleksandar Vukic 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 6-2 on the back of 42 winners. The third-seeded Spaniard’s only moments of concern came in the first set when he let slip a 5-2 lead and found himself 5-6 down with Vukic serving for the opener.

However, the three-time major winner steadied the ship to race away to victory against a player who got the better of him in qualifying at the 2020 French Open. 

Alcaraz next faces Tiafoe, the American player he defeated in five sets in the semi-finals of the 2022 US Open on his way to his first Grand Slam triumph.

“I’m going for him,” said Alcaraz, who is bidding to become just the sixth man after Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win the French Open and Wimbledon titles back to back.

“I’m ready to play a really high level of tennis and hopefully take him.”

Tiafoe made the third round by seeing off Borna Coric in straight sets.

‘Love and hate’

Eccentric Fabio Fognini of Italy needed a clutch of match points to knock out eighth-seeded Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (1/7), 6-3.

The 37-year-old Fognini, sporting bleach-blond hair, twice served for the match from 5-2 up in the third set before sealing victory over the three-time Grand Slam runner-up in the fourth set.

“It just shows why I love and hate this sport,” said Fognini.

Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 US Open champion, came back from dropping the first set and facing two set points in the second to see off Alexandre Muller of France 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/4), 6-4, 7-5.

World number two and US Open champion Coco Gauff cruised into the third round with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni.

“I’m happy with the way I played, could have been cleaner on some points,” said Gauff, who broke her 19-year-old opponent five times.

The American, who made her career breakthrough at Wimbledon as a 15-year-old qualifier in 2019, goes on to face British qualifier Sonay Kartal, the world number 298.

The last time four-time major winner Osaka appeared on Centre Court was in 2019 when she was second seed but was dumped out in the first round by Yulia Putintseva.

Five years on, she is ranked at 113 having only returned to the tour in January after giving birth to daughter Shai in July last year.

All-Italian fight

Osaka’s win over Diane Parry in the first round was her first at Wimbledon since 2018.

The Japanese star takes on America’s 17th-ranked Emma Navarro, who arrived in London on the back of a semi-final run at the Bad Homburg grass-court tournament.

Later Wednesday, world number one Jannik Sinner will take on Italian compatriot and former runner-up Matteo Berrettini.

Italian men’s tennis has rarely been stronger, with the country boasting five players in the top 50 while the nation swept to Davis Cup glory last season.

Ten Italian men started the singles tournament this year at Wimbledon.

Sinner was the first Italian man to capture a Grand Slam title with his victory at the Australian Open in January and was also the first from his country to become world number one.

“I feel like in Italy we have so many tournaments, starting with juniors, then the Futures and Challengers,” said 22-year-old Sinner.

“We have big, big ATP tournaments there. We have good facilities and great coaches.”

Berrettini can boast his own breakthrough Italian moment when he was the first to make a Wimbledon men’s final in 2021.

Sinner made the semi-finals at the All England Club last year where he was defeated by Djokovic.

There could be a memorable day for Chinese tennis with teenager Shang Juncheng taking on 10th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov and 32nd seed Zhang Zhizhen facing Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.

Until Monday, no Chinese man had won a match at Wimbledon in the Open era.