Sinner sets the tone early
Two hours. Twenty-seven minutes to take the opener. Seven break points saved. That’s how ruthlessly Jannik Sinner shut the door on Lorenzo Musetti in an all-Italian US Open quarterfinal that felt more like a statement than a contest. The world No. 1, and defending champion in New York, rolled 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 under the lights at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, extending a hard-court major winning streak that now sits at 26 matches.
The first men’s major quarterfinal between two Italians came with plenty of build-up—two contrasting styles, two rising stars from the same tennis revival—but Sinner made sure the drama didn’t last long. He flew through a 27-minute first set by stepping inside the baseline, taking time away from Musetti, and denying the younger Italian the variety he usually lives on. The one-hander that can dance around a court was hemmed in, forced to trade blow-for-blow with the tour’s most reliable hard-court hitter.
Sinner didn’t just hit through Musetti; he out-defended him. He erased all seven break points he faced, often with a first-strike forehand or a body serve that cut off angles. The few times Musetti carved his way to a look at Sinner’s serve, the door slammed shut just as quickly. That mix—aggression backed by airtight defense—is why Sinner’s been nearly untouchable on these courts for a year.
The numbers keep stacking up. This run pushed Sinner into his fifth consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. Across his five matches in New York this fortnight, he’s surrendered only 38 games—the second-fewest by any man on a march to the US Open semifinals since 2020. The streak across hard-court majors includes back-to-back Australian Open titles and last year’s breakthrough here, a stretch that has built his aura as the sport’s current pace-setter on the surface.
Musetti, the No. 10 seed, brought sparks—feathery touch, disguised angles, a few gorgeous backhands that drew roars from Ashe—but not enough sustained pressure to dent Sinner’s baseline wall. When rallies lengthened, Sinner’s depth and weight of shot slowly pushed Musetti back step by step. When Musetti tried to change speeds with slices and drop shots, Sinner read them early and closed with quick feet. The scoreboard looked lopsided because the patterns stayed the same.
For Italian tennis, the moment still mattered. It was a first in men’s Grand Slam history to see two Italians cross paths this deep at a major, a nod to a pipeline that produced a Davis Cup title in 2023 and a steady stream of top-30 talent. But there is still daylight between Sinner and the pack. His ceiling right now is simply higher, his floor brutally consistent.
- Score: 6-1, 6-4, 6-2
- Match time: 2 hours
- Break points faced/saved: 0/7 against
- Games dropped through five matches: 38
- Hard-court major win streak: 26
If there was a hinge point, it came in the second set. Musetti finally earned daylight on return, only for Sinner to slam the window with composed serving and first-ball aggression. From there, the match settled into familiar territory: Sinner dictating with depth off both wings, Musetti searching for magic on the margins. The final set sped by as Sinner tightened the screws, protected his serve, and repeated the patterns that had worked all night.
Semifinal preview: Auger-Aliassime stands in the way
Waiting on Friday is 25th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who edged No. 8 Alex de Minaur 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5, 7-6 (4) in a match decided by razor-thin points. The Canadian’s path back to the last four at a Slam has been built on first-serve pop, quicker point finishes, and the kind of tiebreak poise that deserted him in a rocky spell last season. When his serve is landing, he can take the racket out of your hand for stretches—something Sinner hasn’t allowed many opponents to do this year.
The tactical chess is clear. For Auger-Aliassime to make this physical, he’ll need to hold serve cleanly and steal early strike positions on Sinner’s second serve. He’ll also have to find forehands on the run without over-pressing, a tough balance against a defender who shrinks the court. Sinner’s job is simpler: keep the return depth, get neutral quickly on defense, and use his down-the-line backhand to unglue the Canadian’s patterns.
The bigger storyline is opportunity. If Sinner advances, he would line up a rare feat—playing the finals at all four majors in the same season. He has looked fresh all tournament, with short nights, no five-setters, and authoritative scorelines. That matters deep in week two, when legs get heavy and decisions get harder.
As for Musetti, there’s more good than bad underneath the result. He’s already made the last four at Roland Garros this year and Wimbledon in 2024, and he has added muscle to his all-court game without losing the creativity that got him noticed. Nights like this one are part of the climb: you measure yourself against the best, then close the gap point by point, matchup by matchup.
Friday on Ashe should feel different—more serve pressure, more first-strike tennis—but the frame remains the same. Sinner is in form, healthy, and dictating his terms. The target on his back grows by the match, and so does the sense that in New York, for now at least, everything still runs through him.
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