Italian world No. 1 Jannik Sinner battled through a persistent hip injury to defeat Germany's Alexander Zverev 7-6(9), 5-7, 7-6(4) on Sunday, earning a spot in the Cincinnati Open final against Frances Tiafoe.
Despite limping and favoring his right hip, Sinner, the Australian Open champion and ATP Tour leader with four titles this season, rallied to overcome the 2021 Cincinnati champion in a grueling three-hour, seven-minute match.
"It means a lot to me. It's a very different moment, what I'm going through, so I'm very happy about this result," Sinner said in an on-court interview.
"The physical aspect, of course, I have to improve because if I want to win Grand Slams or a bigger title, I have to be, for sure, more in shape.
"But I just tried to stay there mentally, which I’m very proud of, and let’s see what’s coming tomorrow."
Zverev was three points away from serving out the opener, but Sinner broke to level at 5-5 before they headed to a rain-interrupted tiebreak, where the Italian secured the set on his third set point with a backhand volley.
The players exchanged early breaks in the second set, but German world No. 4 Zverev held to love to go 6-5 up and then leveled the match in the next game when Sinner sent a forehand smash into the net.
Neither player faced a break point in a tightly contested decider that required a tiebreak, where Sinner took control, dropping just one point on his serve and sealing the match when Zverev sent a backhand long.
In the other semifinal, unseeded Tiafoe beat Danish 15th seed Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) to reach the biggest final of his career.
Rune got the only break of the first set to go 5-4 up and then served out the frame before Tiafoe stormed through the second set in 25 minutes to force a decider.
The Dane raced out to a 5-2 lead, but Tiafoe then followed a routine service hold with a break to love and saved two match points on his serve to get to 5-5.
The players went to a tiebreak that ended when Rune sent a shot long.
With the win, Tiafoe becomes the first American to reach the final since John Isner in 2013.
