US Open 2024: Jannik Sinner breaks Tommy Paul’s heart to set up Daniil Medvedev showdown in New York

Monday was American Express Day at the US Open, but by 9pm, when Jannik Sinner and Tommy Paul entered Arthur Ashe Stadium, it was another evening of American excess.

The world No. 1 has been pleasantly surprised by the reaction of fans in New York over the past week, who have been far more forgiving than some of his peers – after Sinner avoided a suspension despite twice failing a drug test for a banned steroid.

In this fourth round match, however, Sinner faced the American No. 14 and a home crowd determined to make the most of this long Labor Day weekend.

They were loud and relentless. There were chants of “US-A” and jokes about Sinner’s accident on the massage table. It was electric and for two sets it was an intoxicating struggle.

The referee struggled to keep the whole thing under control. But the world number 1 was not intimidated by 24,000 well-oiled fans or a pumped-up rival. Finally, after almost three hours, Sinner broke Paul’s resistance and got the crowd on its feet for the last time.

The number 14 had chances to win the first two sets, but was caught by Sinner

With this 7-6 7-6 6-1 victory he advances to the quarterfinals, where Daniil Medvedev is lurking. Sinner defeated the Russian to claim his first Grand Slam title in Australia earlier this year. With Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz already out, another victory would put Sinner in pole position to win his first US Open title.

How different things could have been if Paul had taken his chances. This was a brutal lesson in the importance of small margins. The American was a double break-up in set one and a mini-break-up in the set-two tiebreak. Twice he gave up the advantage and lost the set.

“He stepped up on the big points and I didn’t. I thought that was the story of the game,” Paul said.

His hopes of becoming the first American man to win the US Open in 21 years are over. Now it’s your turn, Taylor Fritz and Frances Tiafoe. They’ll be at Ashe on Tuesday for their own tantalizing battles and, soon, perhaps, their own date with Sinner.

“That’s where you want to be,” Paul said of playing at Ashe at night. “It’s electric and when I walk out I’m pretty nervous, obviously… it’s a pretty cool place to play tennis.”

Paul was a qualifier ranked No. 437 in the world when he made his first major appearance at the US Open in 2015. He was just 18 and reached the final of the boys’ singles there that same year.

The American was a standout junior who won a boys’ Grand Slam and was ranked No. 3 in the world. Sinner never rose above 133 in the junior rankings; during an Under-18 doubles match against Jack Draper, the Italian was targeted by his opponents. He was the weak link.

Sinner recovered from a double break in the first set to reach the quarterfinals of the US Open

For Paul, America’s number 14, this was a harsh lesson in the importance of small margins

These days, it’s worth avoiding Sinner, and for a while Paul managed to do just that. Their paths had diverged, Sinner exploiting every bit of potential while Paul partied and threatened to squander his. They’d never crossed paths at a Grand Slam. Until Monday night.

And the harsh reality for America’s No. 14? The absence of Djokovic and Alcaraz would have opened three quarters of this draw. Just not his.

At least Paul could use the energy of this crowd. Huge cheers greeted the first point he won and the volume hardly dropped from there.

It didn’t matter that the American stumbled out of the blocks and a series of mistakes threatened to give Sinner the initiative. Paul quickly settled down and soon he had broken the world number 1 – not once, but twice.

At 4-1, Paul was confident and Sinner began to falter. The American dominated the exchanges and had the chance to tighten his grip on this clash in the fourth round. Instead, Sinner flipped the switch.

The Italian had to work his way out of trouble in the first round against the home crowd favourite, but here he managed to turn the tide again: 4-1 became 4-4 and it was soon Paul’s turn to hold on.

Paul was cheered on by a boisterous home crowd at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday night

The American showed guts by saving a set point and then forcing a tiebreak, only to see the tiebreak tilted Sinner’s way after a thundering forehand helped him secure the minibreak. Sinner held his nerve to win a first set that Arthur Ashe had been in his grip for over an hour.

The world number one had not been anywhere near his best form – he had made 15 errors with his forehand alone – how easy it would have been for Paul to lose heart after such a missed opportunity.

But the American, to his credit, kept grinding away. Through 10 games, the second set could hardly have been more different from the first – neither player came close to losing serve.

At 5-5, Sinner finally got a chance for a break, but Paul held his ground and turned up the volume once more. Soon we were in a tiebreak again. Soon Paul had the upper hand again. But once again Sinner caught up with the American to win set two by a hair.

That led to a mass exodus from Ashe and sucked the life out of Paul as well. Sinner broke early in set three before cruising to victory – sending this crowd home for a relatively early evening.