ATP Tour
Sinner ‘takes the friendship away’, surges into US Open SFs
World No. 1 next faces Auger-Aliassime, who holds a winning Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Sinner
September 04, 2025
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Jannik Sinner is aiming for his fifth major crown and second at the US Open.
By Grant Thompson
Jannik Sinner produced another near-flawless performance on Wednesday at the US Open, where he ousted countryman Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 in the first all-Italian men’s major quarter-final.
After dropping just three games in his fourth-round demolition of Alexander Bublik, Sinner dispatched Musetti in convincing fashion to become the second-youngest man in the Open Era to reach the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam events in a season, behind a 22-year-old Rafael Nadal in 2008.
“We know each other very well,” Sinner said of Musetti following his two-hour victory. “We are from the same country. We have so many Italian players every time in the draw. I know here, there are many Italians, so it’s nice to play here. Obviously playing Davis Cup together and stuff like this, we have to take the friendship away for the match and then obviously when we shake hands, everything is fine.
“From my point of view, it was a great performance, very solid. Especially starting very, very well in the match.”
Defending champion Sinner, winner of the past three hard-court majors, extended his winning streak at those events to 26 matches — tying Novak Djokovic and Ivan Lendl for the third-longest men’s major hard-court win streak.
Longest Men’s Hard-Court Slam Win Streaks
Needing to outperform rival Carlos Alcaraz at Flushing Meadows to retain World No. 1 honours in the PIF ATP Rankings, Sinner will first have his attention on his semi-final opponent Felix Auger-Aliassime, one of the few players with a Lexus ATP Head2Head edge (2-1) over the top seed.
Sinner eased past Auger-Aliassime in Cincinnati last month, dropping just two games in a quarter-final thrashing. Auger-Aliassime’s two victories against Sinner both came in 2022.
Sinner constantly imposed his will against Musetti, hugging the baseline as he ripped the felt off the ball and forced the 10th seed to play from a defensive position for much of the battle. He rarely allowed Musetti a look on return, winning 91 per cent (42/46) of his first-serve points. Musetti won just 18 of 75 return points for the match and did not convert any of his seven break chances.
One victory shy of 300 tour-level match wins, according to the Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index, Sinner holds a 36-4 season record. At 24 years and 18 days, Sinner is the youngest man to record 25 wins at the majors in a single season, surpassing Mats Wilander (24 years, 20 days in 1988).
Sinner is on course for a fifth consecutive showdown with Alcaraz in tournaments where they both are in the draw, their most recent clash coming in Cincinnati, where the Italian fell ill before the highly anticipated final and retired after five games.
The 20-time tour-level titlist has appeared at his physical best this fortnight, dropping just one set (to Shapovalov in R3) all tournament. Sinner has lost 38 games across five matches, the second-fewest games dropped en route to the US Open semi-finals since 2020. Last year, Jack Draper lost just 36 games on his way to the last four.
Sinner is seeking his fifth major crown and second at the US Open. Should he triumph in New York, it would mark his fourth Slam crown in his past five major outings, with his lone miss being this year’s Roland Garros, where Sinner let slip three championship points in an instant-classic final against Alcaraz.
Sinner and Alcaraz have split the past seven majors and are closing in on potentially extending the streak to eight, which would mark a second consecutive calendar-year Grand Slam shutout from the duo. Sinner, this year’s Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, is second in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. He is 2,290 points behind first-placed Alcaraz heading into Friday’s semi-finals.
Did You Know?
The Italian Sinner is 16-0 against his countrymen in tour-level matches, including three wins against 23-year-old Musetti.
Final four in the Big Apple 🤩@usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/Xd2c4rB6Lq
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