ROME. One game from the final of the ATP 500 in Vienna, with the serve available, Jannik Sinner suddenly collapsed. Next 6-3, 5-2 against an exhausted Frances Tiafoe, the light went out in the blue. The player from Statuit has thus been able to get back on top – having the merit of taking advantage of the chances granted to him by his opponent – to the point of grasping a victory that only a short time before seemed a mirage. Result of the blackout: 6-3, 5-7, 2-6 after two hours and 18 minutes of play. And goodbye to what would have been the second final in a row (the sixth of the season), after the triumph in Antwerp.
On Sunday Tiafoe will face Alexander Zverev, who in the other semifinal got rid of the Spanish starlet Carlos Alcaraz with a double 6-3. Beyond the regret for the vanished opportunity, Sinner has nevertheless achieved an important goal: from Monday, at just 20 years and two months, he will enter the world top ten for the first time, at number 9. Younger than him only Rafa Nadal, Nole Djokovic and Andy Murray had succeeded. It is difficult to say whether the black hole in which Sinner fell or the ability to take advantage of Tiafoe, n.49 in the ranking, coming from the qualifiers, weighed more on the outcome of the match. The South Tyrolean started as the favorite not only for the different qualifications, but also for the previous two, both won. On the fast indoor Wiener Stadthalle the match got underway when, with a decisive break in the fifth game – thanks to two phenomenal responses on the American’s first serve – Sinner ran away going to win the first set. In the second the blue started even more bold and, with a backhand crossed passerby, he placed the “tear”, immediately confirmed for a 3-0 that left the opponent dejected.
With the match escaping his hands, Tiafoe was left with only the generosity that distinguishes him and, after saving two more break points, he took home a 3-1, which at that moment knew so much about the game of the flag. At the service to close the match, at 5-2, Sinner missed a backhand on 15-0. And there the wind changed. Tiafoe saw a crack and got the counter-break. Completed the hookup and in a competitive trance, with the public all on his side, he then took another break that led him to 6-5 to serve for the set, won by practically impregnable firsts. Having lost a set after 23 indoor wins in a row, Sinner gave up. The American went to 3-1 and then to 5-2, with the service available. And the door to his third career final has opened wide.